We tell people that we live on a boat and that we have no jobs and they think WOW what a life, it’s like living a 24/7 vacation. But really it’s not. We have no idea where the time in the day goes. Carl is constantly fixing stuff and I’m constantly cleaning up after the kids. I clean all day but nothing is ever clean. I guess it’s better to write that I pick up clutter all day. Our port holes and shower curtains are all growing mold and our vanity looks like something out of a male restroom. But we are all doing our best. Girls are awake from sun up to sun down and then half the time they sneak into our bed at night and continue to torment us.
Today we spent all day doing laundry taking it in turns every 30 minutes to walk up the dock and down the seawall to change over the laundry. I don’t even know how many loads we did today 8+. But it does feel nice to wear those crispy clean clothes that have been washed in a machine than in a bucket. They have that extra dry feel to them. Laundry isn’t always easy like this. The marina only recently had their machines up and running and we were doing it all in a bucket and hanging it on our lifelines. It didn’t take long for the local restaurant to ask us to move. Also commercial dryers ruin your clothes. So lucky we aren’t in the direct line of site of the restaurant because all day today I’ve been rotating laundry on our life lines again. We had just enough time in the afternoon to take the girls for a dingy ride to try and find a beach. We went down past the 5 cruise ships docked and past the shipping container terminal to a quiet little beach. We were lucky to be the only ones there, probably because there were piles of garbage on it that wash up and the view of container yard wasn’t so pleasant. But all the same, the girls went for a swim and then we walked amongst the garbage and found little shells to take back to the boat and treasure. It’s nice to hang out at a deserted beach for an hour with my family you just needed to squint a little to make all the rubbish disappear. But it is Nassau.
To go grocery shopping we either take the free van from the supermarket or take our dingy all the way down past Potters Cay and leave it (under lock an key) at a dodgy looking dingy dock. We fight the 2-3 lane traffic and have the tease of walking past Starbucks with people sipping their Frappuccino’s. The supermarket is super nice but a bit on the expensive side so we try and buy what’s on special. We load everything in our waterproof back packs and head back to the dingy. Positive: to be able to go grocery shopping via dingy, Negative: having to carry everything on your back and hope you’re not squishing the eggs.
In the last week everything has been harder, tempers have flared, tears have welled up but we are a strong family and will get through this tough time. I wake up tired and spend the day in a haze. My pregnancy is getting exceedingly difficult due to the heat, constant need to entertain the girls, and the fact that I’m an oversized mumma living on a boat. It’s a mission to get on and off the boat due to the netting and either have to step up 3’ or down 3’ depending on the tides. Carl and I can barely fit down the hall together anymore and even for me to get in and out of the bed is a mission. It’s uncomfortable to lie down in the girls’ bunk to read them a goodnight story and I’m the first one to scream slow down in the dingy when approaching a wake. Everything hurts and I swear Carl is about to gag me, tie me up with shock cord, toss me in the forward cabin and not come back until I’m in labor. If you don’t hear from me in a week you know where I’ll be……