The Countdown

What does Hawaii look like in January? Don't ask me - ask my husband. Right now he's on Kauai, the Garden Isle, feeling the ocean breeze on his face, catching a nice tan in 80 degree temperatures and watching beautiful Hawaiian sunsets.

Without his wife.

For the 8th time.

Hmm. Something isn't quite right here.

Well, to be quite honest, he is working - really. He hops on a plane every January and for two to three weeks he toils in a cornfield in the Hawaiian sunshine. Being a Research Technician for a chemical/corn breeding company does have it's perks after all. . .

Why aren't I with, you ask? Well, I could go with him and sit alone in a hotel while he baked in the sun or I could roam the island by myself while he worked from dawn til dusk. Neither sound like an option I'd like to try. I'd rather have both - the vacation and my husband - at the same time. Call me silly.

And it also seems that God's timing for a Hawaiian vacation is not right now. The couple times we'd planned my flying out there when his work was completed ended up being crossed off the list in favor of other things. You know, those little things that keep popping up like . . . a pregnancy, a nursing infant, selling the house . . . those things.

So, I stayed home with my boys, cleaned the house top to bottom, rearranged closets and listened to the freezing rain and -30 windchill forecast. Living in Minnesota does have it's perks after all. . .

This year two of my close friends spent a few days with us and we laughed hilariously, stayed up till the wee hours on a Jane-Austen-era kick watching movies such as Persuasion and Jane Eyre and nibbled chocolate.

Then the boys and I went to visit my twin sister and her family. Again I laughed hilariously, stayed up until the wee hours watching Wuthering Heights and Northanger Abby and nibbled chocolate. Then I added a run to the ER and watched as the flu bug made it's rounds just for the fun of it.

Ahh, the joys of trying to pass time more quickly while my beloved is gone. Reading late at night until my eyes are too fuzzy to see. Watching the hands circle the clock for the godzillionth time. Waiting for the phone to ring and hoping it's his daily call. . .

So now we are counting down the days, trying to catch up on sleep, praying for his safe return, smelling his coat and hugging it while it hangs in the closet (I know, I'm pathetic), cuddling my infant, teaching school, tucking the boys in at night, and above all, realizing the precious gift God has given me in my husband. Being alone for a time does have it's perks after all. . .