Doug was in Dallas working 5 days last week and will do it again next week. I know I should’ve been thrilled to have some “me” time. However, I was kinda bummed. I know that military couples can be separated for months at a time. I know that in many marriages one of the spouses may have to travel a lot for business and can be gone for extended periods. But for the last 20 years at least, Doug and I have been self-employed. He and I have been joined at the hip, around the clock, for what seems like forever. There has been only one time that he has been away from me. He was gone for 7 weeks right after his grandmother died. His dad had died just the month before and now his mom was totally alone for the first time in 40 years. He had to go and help with the house, etc.
I didn’t begrudge the first few weeks. My dad had just died three years before and I remembered the toll it took on my mom. Anyway, I was really busy taking Brett to all the different therapies and taking care of Amanda. After a month though I was ready for him to be home. It seemed to me that now he was up there having a grand time, away from any of the multitude of responsibilities here- not to mention the heat. His mom cooked and did the laundry for him. What’s not to like? At the last minute I booked three seats and the kids and I flew to Connecticut to bring him home.
Flying with a four year old and two year old by myself was not a fun experience. We had a layover at O’Hare and the connecting flight was about as far away as humanely possible. Not to mention that Brett’s tape player ate batteries like Blinkie in Pac-Man. Unfortunately I had to buy new batteries at the gift shop in O’Hare. (After I paid, I felt violated and no one even offered to kiss me.) After landing at JFK I had to find the spot to get the Connecticut Limo which would take us to New Haven where Doug would be waiting to pick us up. Stupidly, I thought it would be a limo where I could relax for the 2.5 hr. trip. Boy was I wrong. This was no limo. It was an OLD Suburban which had no shocks, struts or whatever it is that is supposed to make the ride smooth.
Once we got to his mom’s house I took Doug outside for a quick talk. All I said was, “Now or never.” He kissed me and said “Now”. We all flew home five days later. It not all rainbows and butterflies here. We have disagreements like all couples do sometimes. But we’re lucky and we know it.
