Bye & Hello

Has it ever happened to you that someone asks you this question: "Why do you complain about your job if you earn a lot of money?" And it’s true, the pay allows for a comfortable life. The problem is the moments you miss.

Those important days: a doctor’s appointment when your wife is pregnant, your children’s birthdays, your friend’s wedding, the first day at daycare, the first tooth your child loses, your mother’s routine surgery, or even the chance to say goodbye to your father the day he passed away because you were in the middle of the ocean.

None of that has a price. No amount of money in the world can make up for it.

But never, ever question the job of someone who works at sea, no matter the sector. Think about what that person has given up. That person misses their children and family more than anyone could imagine. That person, no matter how tough they seem, cries in secret the day they leave for the ship. That person cries in secret when they’re at sea and there’s a serious problem at home.

That person feels defeated after an endless shift, working seven days a week for two or three months straight.

Believe me, With my illness, life has taught me to value what I have, and money becomes secondary. And yet, I miss it all.

I miss something. I miss taking a flight to board the ship. I miss packing my suitcase. I miss that smell of saltpeter that has accompanied me since I was a child when my father returned home with his suitcase impregnating the smell of the sea through the house.

But if there’s one good thing about working at sea, something more valuable than all the money in the world, the moment you come home to be with your loved ones.