Geri

I just got back after six months at sea. Five years on cruise ships taught me how to live out of a suitcase. Now I’m learning how to stay in one place.

I’m choosing myself, and the life I want to build on land.

Cruise ships were the most interesting part of my life. People from all over the world became family. Six months on, then home, then gone again. No roots, no routine, just the next port. It was hard to imagine leaving that behind.

My husband and I both worked the ships. We started talking about what we actually wanted. A dog. A home. A long term. Somewhere we weren’t always packing a suitcase. We decided to come back to land together.

I want to be more settled somewhere.

I’m back in Calgary now, figuring out what grounded looks like. There’s no ship schedule telling me where I’ll be next month. My husband and I are planning a life here, together, with the same people in it every day.

I’m finally building something that doesn’t leave.

I carry five years of stories most people only get to ask about. Maybe one day I’ll return to ship life in some other way. For now I’m proud I chose my future instead of staying somewhere familiar. I’m home in Calgary, building the next chapter, one plan at a time.

I’m proud of myself for choosing myself and my future.