Working

Wrestling with intransigent hand-ripping rubber tube. Scraping old glue. Filling water tanks and flooding the floor. Going solar and subsequently re-wiring the entire guts of the boat. Racing against time. Only two weeks left. Tired, sore, happy, and harmonious.

In the interim, so much has been left unwritten. But it's all working.

The first thing to happen after Jiayu's April 1 arrival was the falling away of fear. Suddenly I remembered why I had decided to build a life with her. Everything was clear, even if new and slightly surreal.

We went sailing on day two and then dove into preparation for the trip.

Our bodies are sore and it looks hard to be ready in time to leave. And yet, we make time for morning walks to the beach and the nearby wetland duck pond. We spend long moments learning the songs of red-wing blackbirds and watching the ducks feed and court.

We shop slowly, meeting the merchants and learning new things each time we go--a better way of wiring, what gives a wine its particular flavor. We eat at least one good home-cooked meal a day.

And then back to work. Long days of joyful, painful labor.

It's hard to explain how such physically demanding work can feel so exactly right. I ache all over, willingly working hard and right in tune with Jiayu. Each of us is facing frustrations on a daily basis, and yet we begin and end each day with joy.

But now, midday, it's time for me to stuff myself back into a small locker, upside down, and curse my wiring.

與艱韌磨手的橡皮管奮戰、刮除老舊的黏合劑、將水箱裝滿水與處理水滿溢的意外、架設太陽能發電板、重新更換全船的電線。我與時間賽跑，只剩下二週了。我感到疲憊、全身酸痛，但是卻快樂而協調。

太多的事來不及寫下，但是一切都順利進行中。

在Jiayu四月一日到達後，之前的擔憂便逐漸消逝。一瞬間我記起了當初為何決定與她為伴。雖然一切都感到嶄新且稍許不真實，但是卻再清晰也不過。

Jiayu到達的第二天我們就出海航行，然後全力投入旅程的準備工作。

我們全身酸痛不堪，不知道是否能如期啟程。然而，我們仍然抽出時間在清晨到海邊散步，我們尋訪碼頭邊綠頭鴨棲息的濕地池塘，傾聽紅翅黑鳥的歌聲，觀察雁鴨的覓食與尋偶。

我們放慢購物的速度，與販賣者談天，每次都有所斬獲，如：更好的電線管路架設方法，或是酒的不同香味。我們每天至少煮一噸豐盛的菜餚。

然後我們工作──漫長的、喜悅的、卻痛苦的勞動。

我很難解釋為何如此耗損體力的工作卻如此正中我心。我和Jiayu都一致同意自己身體痛楚卻自願辛勤工作。我們兩人每天都經歷挫折，但是每天卻以喜悅開始與結束。

現在，日正當中，該是鑽入船艙的置物箱與電線纏鬥的時候了。