Day 36 – A Year of Gratitude and Joy – Sailing

Greg’s parents sailed. When he was young, they introduced him (and his siblings) to the sport. Greg took to it like a duck takes to water. He learned enough to become competitive and even taught sailing as a young man.

At some point, he got away from it and took up flying. It was many years later when we met. By then, he’d gotten away from that, too. I encouraged him to get back in the cockpit and we had a blast. But, when he was at the controls of a plane, he was intense and focused; a very conscientious pilot.

Then, he took me sailing. We rented a craft on a trip to Southern California and he guided us just past the breakwaters into the Pacific Ocean where, much  to  my delight, a pair of dolphins swam alongside our boat, diving and leaping along. Greg was in his element and I was giddy.

A couple of years later, we rented again, this time in San Diego. The harbor was crowded on a beautiful sunny day, but Greg didn’t seem to notice. He was all smiles and incredibly at ease as he maneuvered among the other boats and we glided through the blue water.

When we moved to Arizona, I pointed out how much more enjoyable sailing appeared to be for him. He loves to fly, but sailing takes him to a well-known place of bliss. It didn’t take long for us to find and join the Arizona Yacht Club. 

He’s adopted a boat while we figure out if (or rather when) we will buy our own. He spent several afternoons recently repairing his borrowed Laser. Each time he works on it, he relaxes. He smiles brighter. He is happy!

Today I am grateful for sailing. I am thrilled to share Greg’s joy. 

There’s a whole world out there just waiting to be explored. Rediscover a joy from your past somewhere on your travels.

© The World A to Z, LLC 2022 — Unless otherwise indicated, no compensation was received for this blog.