Well, that didn't last long. The same day I
received my final paycheck from the company that laid me off, I received a
contract from that company for sixteen more weeks of work. Last summer I went
to California to work on a project with the rest of my group. We worked about
80 hours a week and finished the design in about half the time it should have
taken. That product was accepted by the customer "as is" with no
modifications required and is currently being sold to new customers. I was laid
off because I asked to be, but a new customer requested a modified version of
the product we created last summer, so my former boss asked me to come back to
help with the new design. I wasn't sure, but the money was too much to pass up.
Sixteen weeks will keep us in Florida through the end of the year and past
hurricane season. I was already regretting my decision the day after I signed
the contract. Wendy and I were able to do a lot of work on the boat in August,
we got the opportunity to do a bunch of diving with my nephew and his
girlfriend and I'm already missing the free time I've lost. However, it appears
that we're going to be stuck around here for the next couple of months, anyway.
Two days after signing the contract, Wendy was
stepping into the cockpit of our sailboat and miss placed her foot. She had her
hands full so she couldn't catch herself and got all her weight on her foot at
an odd angle. Her fifth metatarsal shattered like a dropped bottle. It's a
small bone, but still ended up in four pieces. She had surgery on it two weeks
ago and the doc put the puzzle back together again then added some pins and a
plate to hold it all in place. Wendy went back for x-rays last week and the doc
said it looks perfect. She had half her stitches taken out this week and she’ll
have the rest done next week. It was a long cut on a little foot. She will be
non-weight bearing on that leg for six weeks. We've spent some time hanging out
at my sister's condo, but we don't want to leave the boat too long, so we’ll be
going back to the boat on Friday. We both miss the boat and want to get back
there, so we'll give that a try and see how it goes.
We have a seat called a boson's chair that is used
to lift people up the mast. Since Wendy is non-weight bearing she won't be able
to climb up and down the ladder to get on and off the boat. To get in and out
of our dinghy, I'll need to hoist her up and down using the boson's chair. When
we get ashore she has a rolling knee walker. That sort of looks like a scooter,
but you just put one knee on it. That keeps the weight off her foot while
allowing her to be mobile. Very mobile, it can be hard to keep up with her.
So, life isn't quite what we expected, but at
least it’s interesting. Wendy said this was the best summer of her life. Well,
before breaking her foot. We got to do a lot of great diving, spend time with
lots of family, make new friends and get the boat all ready for cruising while
living at anchor. While everything didn't go as planned, we still had a great
summer and are loving our lives.
