Coming Out of Hibernation

Yes, Mel knows you haven’t heard from her in a while.  The Burnetts have been hibernating.  They are not dead.  Or normal.  You see, after 2 years of blissfully not needing more than a light jacket in December, Mel was forced to open the “Outerwear” box.  Like Pandora, Mel released dark forces into the world.  After her experience manipulating the Sea with variable degrees of success, Mel blames herself now for Winter, and she is pretty convinced that it got really cold once Mel opened that damn box.  Sorry, Nebraska.  Five months ago she dusted off clothing with multiple layers of down, fleece, and Gore-Tex-coated polyester all sewn together, because layers are warm, and you’re going to need all of them, so might as well weld them together from the start.  As Mel wrapped herself in her Minnesota-level triple-layer jacket and turned on the heat (and the humidifier, of course), she instantly became sleepy, and she stayed that way until two weeks ago. 

So Former Cruiser’s Nostalgia (FCN) is a new syndrome Mel has described, with the first case report being about herself.  Most Omahans are befuddled by the unusually long and crappy Winter we just had, but Mel knows deep down the whole thing was caused by her FCN.  When one suffers from FCN, one does the following things:

1. Lurking on your old cruising Facebook pages like Women Who Sail, occasionally helping out those facing similar problems that you faced, but eventually tapering off because, well, who the hell are you again?
2. Reading the posts of your old cruising friends, thinking their pictures and stories are spectacular, being really happy for them, and then going through all the pros and cons of why you stopped cruising as you mix your tears in your G&T and realize that G&Ts do not taste so good when it is snowing and there are tears in there.
3. Creating excessive homages to your cruising life, like this Sherpa blanket designed on collage.com:

   

And this photo collage made from acrylic prints on metallic photo paper from BumbleJax.com:

And this 15” NIX Advance digital photo frame, loaded up with 1500 of Mel’s best pictures from the trip:

4. Looking at pictures of yourself at the helm of a large vessel and saying, “OMG, I can’t believe I actually did that!”
5. Realizing that you moved to the only “triple-locked state” in the Union, being at least three states from any ocean in any direction (thanks a lot, Roy, for pointing that out), and questioning your judgment even though your kids are thriving.
6. Spending more money than you should on the house you are building so that you can pretend you are not living in a city that would rather have giant potholes every 20 feet on all roads than admit that taxes and the government do have a purpose and that everyone who pays taxes is deserving of some sort of minimum quality of life, regardless of their neighbors’ capacity to work.

So as you can see, Mel fought her sleepiness and got some stuff done over the winter.  This has included critiquing Omaha.  Oh yeah, she also got used to being a neurologist again.  That was both harder and easier than she thought it would be, mainly because she sets high standards for herself.  But that is a post for later.

And that is how the Burnetts handled our first hibernation in three years.  Even the cat went into hibernation.  But do not despair!  Spring has finally sprung, heralded by the cat’s first barfed-up grass!

Of course, nomads cannot be pinned down for long.  While the Burnetts are affixed to land for a while, there is nothing stopping them from adventuring now and then.  So dear readers, prepare for more excitement!  In early June, the Burnetts will load up a rented RV with outerwear and two Colombians and head West for our summer vacation.  The United States is a very interesting ocean.  And the Burnetts are going to cross part of it in “Pirate Mode.”  What does that mean?  Stay tuned!  We are going to find Forrest Fenn’s treasure!