I made the decision in November 2019 to take some time away from working on cruise ships, which is what I have known for the last fifteen years. A lifestyle that has provided me with many riches and outstanding experiences in many ways. I have met a staggering number of people whilst doing a job I absolutely love and sailed around the globe several times. It wasn’t an easy decision to step away but having a focus of a big birthday has allowed me to decide what I wanted this year to be about.
Working on cruise ships is fantastic and an experience I would recommend to anyone, but there is always the feeling and opinion from others, that it is just not real life and often referred to as living in a bubble. I am therefore going to try and experience ‘real life’ and still do a little bit of reflecting about my past travels and document new ones too.
I set about writing my list of 40to40 goals (which you can see in full under the list tab), taking inspiration from others and really thinking about what I wanted to achieve. I began in November 2019 but the year will run December 2019 to December 2020 as my birthday is in September.
The year started in a new job which meant the list took a back seat for a while unfortunately, but by February I managed to tick several off of the list. Needless to say, that this year has not gone exactly to plan with several adventures being postponed, but that does not mean that my goals are on hold. If anything because of Covid 19 and the global pandemic, life has allowed me to take stock and really focus on what I want to achieve and allow myself to consider what is important which was all part of the plan in any case.
I suppose stopping and looking at the world rarely happens as life is so incredibly busy. This time is a gift that has made many of us reconsidered what is important. Approaching a change of any kind, is always scary so changing jobs and lifestyle has already provided a period of discovery for me over the last seven months.
This of course all feels very serious and my subconscious is saying, ‘make it exciting otherwise you’ll lose them and they won’t read on’. To be honest I am writing this from the heart and that will remain my focus throughout I hope. The main purpose is to keep a chronological record of what is possible during a year of change and allow me to look back on a time where life was a little bit unknown.
I will allow my list to predominately lead my blog posts but I will also take the time to reflect on my travels of the past eighteen years and share some of my memories and stories from all the countries I have visited whilst being a salty sea dog!
Everything I read about turning 40, includes many clichés about being older and wiser, so maybe this year can provide me with that wisdom before I get there. At 39 I feel even more uncertain about life and the world in general so this journey should be an exciting one!
Throughout this blog I hope you enjoy my inner musings and will be mildly entertained by the thoughts and experiences of a well-travelled, slightly humorous 39-year-old co-habiting Step Mother of two, as she attempts to sail (on land) elegantly into her 40th year on planet earth.