The next step on a bigger journey

It's been a few days now since I dropped Forrest off at SeaTac to embark on the next step of his - and our - journey. He's now on a 1000' container ship - the equivalent of 12 stories tall - in the Newark, NJ harbor, the newest member of a crew of about 25. The last few days, they've readied themselves and the ship with maintenance, drills, and getting to know each other. And now he's prepared to leave on his first of many on-board adventures. They'll cast off tomorrow and head down the coast to Savannah (where he'll meet his brother to restock a few key essentials like chemical hand warmers), make a few stops in between, venture back up, then cross the Atlantic en route to Shanghai by way of the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean, with stops in Malta, Sri Lanka and Singapore, among others. He'll do this several times while on this 180 day tour.

This is big. This is something we've talked about, planned for, worked toward, and eagerly anticipated. On Friday night, I experienced a dichotomy of feelings - anxious but peaceful, joyful but sad, proud of his and even our accomplishments, yet humbly grounded in a profound understanding of the work and energy it took to get here. For both of us. To get the position, he certainly did the heavy lifting. But together, we've had our roles to play.

There were many times these past couple of years where I felt like all I was doing was "holding down the fort" while he took the necessary steps. No small endeavor, this holding part, and certainly there was more to it, as we've both had our work cut out for us in many ways, building the foundation that makes this possible. But with my coach training now underway, and Forrest on a ship, the foundation building and holding patterns have shifted and we are both actively participating in this journey in a completely different way. We are now moving forward at an accelerated pace.