My Big Toe

I rarely, if ever, blog on weekends.  I'm making an exception this weekend as the kids are in bed, and the husband is out of town on a business trip.

The fact that he's out of town is rather significant.  You see, tomorrow is our 7th wedding anniversary. 

For the first six and a half years of our marriage, we had an incredible streak going.  Some might think it's crazy.  Others might think it's sweet.  Maybe others pathetic.  No matter.  The fact is that for six and a half years, we did not spend a single night apart from each other.  It was one of those "whither thou goest" things, I suppose.  We're best friends.  We never really had a reason to be apart.

Apparently, when you get to be good at your job, they make you start going places.  And so, in June 2009, we spent our first nights apart when he went to Oklahoma City for a week to train some other nerds how to do nerdy things.  (Sorry, Sam.  You know I mean "nerd" with the utmost respect.)  In October, he went to Baltimore for a few days to do more of the same.  Luckily for him (wink, wink), he got to hang out with my parents in his down time.  (And if nothing else, got to enjoy a By the Docks crabcake.)

Now it's January 2010, and he's in Utah for ten days teaching the folks at Hill AFB all about electronic test equipment.  This will be our longest stretch apart yet, and my longest solo stretch with the kids.

[Let me pause briefly to thank the men and women whose spouses serve in the Armed Forces and regularly  face extended stretches like this as a part of their lives.  You are heroes as much as the soldiers themselves.  The sincerest of thank yous and applause from me to you.]

I know they say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, and maybe that's true.  But I can't help feeling like my arm is missing when Sam's away.  I always think of the line from Stripes, "An Army without leaders is like a foot without a big toe."  Of course, I amend it in my mind to play, "Jennie without Sam is like a foot without a big toe."

I know my foot will be whole again in ten days.  Until then, we'll take it one day at a time.  We'll make it.  And if you happen to read this, Sam:  Happy Anniversary.  I love you!

On a semi-related note, I'm happy to report that the first nine hours of single-parenting have been mostly uneventful.  (Unless you count the few minutes that I couldn't find Abby, only to locate her hiding in the dark playroom behind this toy eating a donut she stole out of the box on the counter before dinner.)  This is one time when boring is absolutely fantastic.

I am grateful for the list, as it proves to be a good distraction.  We will be making homemade pizza dough tomorrow night (#65).  And I intend to use any post-bedtime time to myself to work on ordering prints of photos from April 2009-present (#56) and/or reading a book (#74).

(And this completes the most random blog post ever.  I think maybe instead of a foot missing its big toe, I'm more like a brain missing the ability to organize and communicate thoughts!)