At the end of the fall rowing season, my husband and I ordered new single sculls from Fluidesign, to be built over the winter. We had hoped they’d be ready by February, but the delivery (and trade-in of our old boats) was today. Our river was frozen solid in February anyway, and the Sarasota course was windy enough that there weren’t many good days for rowing singles, so we didn’t miss much.

This morning, my husband drove north to pick up the boats somewhere around Toledo or Detroit. Because I stayed at home doing my usual work and then went to do the grocery shopping, I’m not sure where the exact meeting place was. He likes pop-culture references, and just before noon, he sent me a text message that said, “The package is being delivered.”

We’re hoping for good weather to row the singles next week. For now, they are still in their bags, on the back wall of the garage where we keep boats during the winter.

The rack above them is where the double goes, but we usually take the double back to the boathouse before we start rowing singles. We haven’t gone out in the double yet, though. If the weather is warm enough and not too windy next week, we’ll likely row the singles first instead because they are the new toys.