I realized that when I started this series about making my way from age fifty-six to age sixty, I never explained why I chose the name that I did.  Names are important.  I always tell my music composition students that they must give their work meaningful names.  This lets me know that they have taken ownership of their creation.

So, why am I calling these posts Sailing Toward Sixty?

One of the reasons that I started writing about my journey toward age sixty in the first place is my awareness of how fast time seems to be ticking.  There are no guarantees in this life so if I continue to say, “I’ll do it later.” the possibility that later will never come becomes more real as every year passes.  I made the conscious decision that it was time to start whittling away on the things that are at the top of my bucket list.  One of those things is a cruise to Alaska.

I’m not a beach person, or really even a cruise person, so I’ve never had a desire to take a Caribbean cruise, but the beauty of Alaska, just through pictures I’ve seen, has always spoken to my heart in a deep way, a way that I can’t even adequately articulate.  Last July, the opportunity to take this cruise of a lifetime presented itself.  I was ready to sign on the dotted line.  The problem?  Weber was not the least bit interested in going with me.  It’s not that he doesn’t share my attraction to the beauty of Alaska’s landscape; it’s that he will not go on a cruise of any kind to any place.  Period.  The end.

Weber has an intense fear of the ocean.  Come to find out, this is a common phobia called thalassophobia.  I’ve been surprised by the number of people to whom I’ve told this story who themselves or someone they know also has thalassophobia.  When I was willing to take, what is for me, this trip of a lifetime without him, I knew that I was truly becoming serious about my bucket list.  It is from this realization that the title Sailing Toward Sixty was born.

On June 27th, seven of us will leave Dallas on this adventure – three of my best friends and the parents and aunt of one of them.  We’ll have a day and a half in Vancouver before boarding the ship for our seven-day cruise.  To say that I am looking forward to these ten days is a serious understatement.  The funny thing is that I am not creating a list of expectations for the trip.  I have no must-sees, must-dos, or must-not-dos.  My intention is to be present and live in the moment each and every day that we are traveling.  The things that I see and do are the very things that I am intended to see and do.  If for some reason I “miss” something, I trust that either there will be another opportunity or whatever it is was not truly important at this point.  Someone once told me that “Expectations are premeditated resentments.”  Resentment over having missed something is not on my bucket list!

I am most grateful for a husband who understands that this trip is important to me.  In the almost eight years that we have been married, we’ve never spent more than two nights apart and that was only in the last year!  This will be a long haul for both of us!  The one good thing about Weber staying at home is that the animals will all be well cared for and I won’t have to worry about them.  We’re both always a little on edge when we are gone together for longer periods of time.  I know.  It sounds ridiculous, but it’s the truth.

So there you have it.  That’s the story of the birth of Sailing Toward Sixty.

Thanks for sharing this adventure with me!