Lately I’d been worried that time had been slipping away during the holidays. Our routine of working on David B projects in the late afternoons and early evenings was disrupted by holiday parties and social obligations. While we enjoyed making time to see friends and family, in the back of my mind, I kept worrying how long it had been since I’d been able to do anything on the boat. 

In November I started working refinishing the skylight on the foredeck while Jeffrey removed a section of old wood from the pilothouse. His big project for this winter is to build in a custom refrigerator and freezer just in front of the pilothouse. Our routine was good. In the mornings we’d work on marketing our cruises or on freelance contracts we have for winter income. Sometime around three or four in the afternoon we’d drive to the boat and spend a few hours there. It felt good, then December rolled around and suddenly those hours set aside for projects evaporated. Instead of working on the boat, we were working on a glass of wine or beer with friends we’d not seen in a long time. Most days during December we had just enough time to check on the boat -- a habit we’ve happily maintained since we first bought the boat in 1998. 

At some point in mid-December my mom emailed me asking if we wanted help with anything on the boat. She works for the school district where I grew up and had some free time between Christmas and New Years. We agreed that she and my dad would come help for five days.