One of the tough things about this project is leaving land life for 5 months. I still have children in school! I still have a business to run! Figuring out how to break away in a responsible manner is requiring considerable planning.
My kids will be 14, 16, and 18 when I depart. Their mother will bear the burden of their care while I am away. Annika will have a birthday while I’m away. While I can communicate readily (much more on this later), it’s not the same as being there in person. Quincy, my oldest will drive the 2 younger to school as he has been, and either he or their mother will take them home from school in the afternoons. I am deeply grateful to their mother for taking on this responsibility.
The business is a whole other matter. Fulfilling orders, closing the books every month, paying vendors, keeping customers, paying the tax man all can’t stop because I’m not physically present. I’ve enlisted the help of my outside accountant to take over more of the books, and a good friend has volunteered to pay the bills and take care of any odd issues that arise, in communication with me.
The day to day operations to fill customer orders correctly and on-time is always a challenge. The team in place is competent and care for the company and its customers. They take pride in their work, and it truly is a team of people that cares for each other and the company. I’ve been working to make myself unnecessary to the operations of the company, a goal that is largely realized. Some tasks do remain to be turned over, however.
Words cannot express my gratitude to the many people making this trip possible. I can only hope to repay them in kind to alleviate the guilt from taking this foolish, selfish journey.
Here is Rich Wilson attempting to repay the folks who helped him. I intend to continue the tradition.
sparrow 