Present = available to the moment.

In Bahia Tenacatita, after paddling ashore for dinner at a cantina and walking the beach, i picked up my kayak to paddle back out to the boat. It takes a little attention to maneuver a 17' kayak thru a crowd of beach goers. Penetrating thru my attention i heard a young voice, "hola." I stopped and saw a little girl, maybe 7 years old, making eye contact with me. I stopped, smiled and said, "hola." And then went on.
Ooops. There i go again. Damn! Missing the moment. I wonder if she had to muster up some courage to say hi to me. She was obviously curious. Why didn't i stop, put down the kayak, and engage with her? I can imagine, "Como se llama?" Learning her name, asking her if she wanted to see my kayak, maybe sit in it, maybe meeting her parents hovering nearby... But no, i missed that opportunity.
I learn that i am not as present as i want to be. Presence. Can enhance our entire lives. C'mon jon, wake up, be here now.

In the meantime, i wonder if anyone else wants to be here. I'm looking for crew for a 700 mile offshore leg.
The flight i’ve reserved to fly back from Seattle is on June 15. I’ll then have about 550 miles to sail to Huatulco (a few overnighters and some daysails). From there i now plan to depart Mexico and arrive Costa Rica. Skipping Guatemala (too expensive in and out), El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, and getting south of hurricane territory quickly. Depending on the weather, it could be hollywood fun or it could be tough. Sure, we'll get south of hurricanes but i expect we'll get into thunder and lightning. Fair enuf trade. Then i’ll have August and September to spend in Costa Rica and Panama?…waiting for at least late hurricane season before heading for Florida, or trying to skirt south of the storm tracks earlier.
Watching for a weather window, we’ll probably depart Huatulco in early July. Does anyone want to crew for me on this leg? Expecting it will take about a week to sail it. Who can take a few weeks off, and afford airfare? I’m happy to take care of the food and expenses. Just puttin’ the word out there, seein’ if anyone is interested. Thank you.