So how did some ordinary suburban mom get to go to sea on an expedition?
The long answer is a loose series of accepting opportunities, contemplating adversity and pursuing dreams… with a good deal of random chance and supportive network.
In short: about twenty years ago I sailed on a research vessel with SEA Semester part of my junior year in college. This past July, SEA Semester sent out a call for interested alumni to apply for about twenty volunteer positions on a plastics expedition to the Pacific Gyre. Right away I began to dream, but also realistically admitted that it was not for me. I have responsibilities at home and with our two martial arts schools. I couldn’t afford to be gone for six weeks, and I certainly didn’t have the scientific background to make myself a serious applicant. But I read the information more closely, and they were also looking for writers and a connection with the K-12 world: those needs, I might help fill. So I applied and was happily astounded to be selected.
The supportive network comes in the form of nuclar and extended family, friends, homeschool groups, schoolteachers, and social media. I asked my daughter how she felt, and she encouraged me to do what I encourage them to do: “Pursue your dream, Mom.” My only detractor is an ambivalent 8-year-old son, who will understandably miss mom, even though he thinks the whole thing is really cool. Could I do it without going so far away for so long? We’ve read sea adventures, and he knows the ocean can be a dangerous place: there are storms and pirates and ghost ships and kraken and all sorts of mysterious sea creatures. Those adventures are fun to imagine, but for real? Mom?