I hate winter. No, that’s not exactly right. I hate having to get up and go out and get things done during the winter. The gray days and cold weather drag at me. If I could get away with doing nothing more than baking and snuggling under quilts with a good book, I might change my opinion of winter. Unfortunately, I have two kids who disagree with my plan for full hibernation.

I still have to shop for food. They insist we visit friends, make plans for museums and meet up with homeschool groups. By the time the kids are in bed at the end of the day, I’m exhausted, mentally and physically, from doing battle with my least favorite season. My energy to attack boat projects, even to think about them, ground to a halt as the dark and freezing weather set in.

Then, Mother Nature surprised us with a week of warm weather, bright sunny skies, temperatures reaching the high sixties, warm breezes and the first sprouts peeking out of the ground. With the warmth came action. I stripped and sanded more of the wood work in preparation for spring brightwork. It’s too bad the toe rail is covered by the shrinkwrap, stripping that will have to wait until shrinkwrap is down. I’m hoping to have all of last years varnish lightly sanded before we are unwrapped, allowing a new top coat to go on as quickly as possible.

Spring cleaning began. Kinsley has a new fascination with chores and has taken over sweeping, vacuuming, and dusting. She’s also in charge of cockpit organization on a much more intermittent basis. We hauled mattresses up on deck to air, I scrubbed and rinsed the bilge, scoured counters, and pulled the rugs out into the sun.

More importantly, we started dreaming aloud again. There’s plenty of talk about summer and sailing. Maine is highest on list. The hope is to spend more days out on the water, heading wherever the wind points us. The Southeast Coast of North America chart of our wall returned to receiving lots of attention.

And then winter reemerged. My blankets resumed their siren call, the oven beckoned, and I answered. Goblin and crew are still here, but we’re returning to hibernation for just a little longer.