Teenager afloat on a boat

Thomas gets his driving learner's permit

  We get asked by many people, especially those who are retired and whose kids are grown, "How do you live on a boat with kids?  Do they like it?  Do they meet other live-aboard kids?  How does the teenager feel about cruising?"  Ahh, so many questions about the kids!  First of all, our family has been living on a boat for so long, our kids do not know any different.  Our first trip, when they were 3.5 & 9 yrs old, it was more work on us when we were moving & to keep an eye on them, but we met more kids their age and found more things for them to do in each port.  This trip, we've had a teenager onboard!

   Yes, having a smart, intelligent, independent teenager on the boat makes life more interesting.  He does not care about playgrounds or some of the museums like his younger brother.  He wants to be able to get out on his own & away from us - the folding bicycle we brought helped with this tremendously!  His homeschooling has basically been "self-taught", with a little guidance from mom.  He is a HUGE help, though, with various items pertaining to the boat: docking, tying up in locks, maintenance chores, watching his brother, driving the boat, etc.  It has been like having another adult, who 6 months into the trip was as tall as his mother ! (he is now taller than me!) 

   Of course, there are many aspects he is not happy about:  missing the start of high school (which included marching band), missing friends (though they keep up with online gaming & texting), missing Boy Scouts (we worked on some merit badges, but he wants to work on rank advancement), and other teenage stuff!

  As we approach the end of our travels, we told him he could go back into high school in TN.  This also meant he could come home and get what he has been waiting all year for:  his driver learner's permit!!  Today, he passed!  Then crazy mom let him drive most of the way home (in the rain!).

  Last year was an amazing year for all of us, but mostly we saw Thomas grow up so much to be such an amazing young man.  This year, I am sure will be interesting for all of us, even if we do stay tied up at a dock in TN. 

(over the next few months, we will be dividing our time between moving the boat "home", David's work, & re-adjusting to not traveling constantly from marina to marina).