A Floatin' Hubby Man

The hubs is states away for business & it's the first time we've been apart overnight since we got married 2 1/2 years ago. Hubby left Friday morning & since that evening around the time he should have walked in the door from work, I have felt like a piece of me is missing. I'm missing a part of me. Like I'm just not...dare I say it?...complete.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's cheesy...he completes me. In fact, that's what Dad 2 said about us before we were even engaged. Not that we are cheesy; he told his son while they were talking about our relationship, "She completes you."

I have to say that whomever invented video chatting is high on my I Love You list. Seriously. I had only ever used this little bit of technology a few times before & that was when I was suddenly in the hospital for a week. Since it was sudden, the kids came home from school to be told Mama was in the hospital & not coming home that day. I stayed in that hospital bed for 7 days & I had some very upset children. Every night I would video chat with them at dinner & before bed. I loved seeing their faces & being able to talk to them while I was kept away from them.

Since then I haven't had a need arise for video chatting, until now. It's so wonderful to talk to my hubby & see his face while so far away. We watched 300 together last night, he laughed at me as I drooled over my other man Gerard, I laughed at the 2-second lag between our tv's. It's not the same as actually being together, but it definitely makes me feel closer to him than a simple phone call can achieve.

These video chats make me just a wee bit less lonely or sad. I love to see his reaction when he looks away & then looks back to see my wide open eyeball taking up his entire screen. Or when the girls pile in front of the laptop with me & we all make faces at him together. Or when Boy Teenager leans over the laptop & makes his upside down nostril be the only thing his step-father sees. Or the smile he gets when each child jumps on to say good night to him, one at a time, the same good nights he receives at home.

Right now I'm writing this while listening to him sleep, just as I would if he was here, & it's rather comforting. The last couple nights he has said good night & left his video chat open so that our nights can be somewhat like normal. Our typical nights are him falling asleep to the sound of the TV on & either the sound of me knitting, a lecture playing while I write notes, or me working away on my laptop.

Even though we're completely functional apart from each other & it's not like I fall apart without him, we like being together. We like knowing that the other is there for every little thing & each big thing. We like knowing that we never have to do anything alone if we don't want to. I don't need him with me in order to live; I prefer my life with him in it. He is truly my Other Half & everything functions better when it is a whole.

With him sleeping in the background, I'm slightly freaked that I'm going to look over at the video chat square & see his body float up into the air, ala Paranormal Activity 4.

Source

Great movie, by the way, but dude, I know I never want to see that in real life. I'm not sure if I want to look over at the video chat box until morning. 'Cause if those movies have taught me anything, it's that the majority of the worst paranormal activity happens at night. 

With our bathroom remodel starting tomorrow, I went to pick up the paint, light fixture, & accessories. I had to go to a man store for these items. To a place that makes my eyes glaze, my shoulders hunch, & every cell in my being scream for mercy.

I had to go to Menards.

Some girls like shopping there. I get that. I don't understand it, but I get it. I would rather get slapped in the face every time I blink or explain female rationale to a man. It's that enjoyable for me. To make it worse, I was going into a man store by myself. By myself means that I had no one to continually sigh or moan at, making sure that my unhappy state is shared with those around me. Sighing & moaning when you're by yourself is just wrong.

This is my Psyching Myself To Go Into Man Store face:

This is my I Can't Get Out Of Going Into Man Store face:

This is my Holy Crap, I Just Shopped In Man Store For 2 Hours face:

I am here to say that I made it out of that man store alive. I got every single thing on the list, picked out an entire new bathroom all by myself, scored a few deals in my typical Coupon Queen fashion to make the trip even cheaper than predicted, & am alive.

Since we didn't have any time in our schedule to pick out the new bathroom, the only time it could be done was today without hubby along. Good thing he trusts my tastes & knows that I would not purposely buy anything gawdy just to mess wit him. I would love to do that & see the look on his face when he came home to a turquoise & Pepto-Bismol pink  bathroom, but I'd also have to pee in that room every day & I'm not willing to do that to myself.

I'm so excited for this new bathroom, especially now that that nightmare shopping trip is behind me. Last May we replaced the nasty too-small shower stall with a giant tub (with jets!) & gorgeous tile surround. Now it's the rest of the bathroom's turn. Everything: walls, flooring, cabinets, sink, mirror...when I say everything, I mean everything is coming out. We're starting from scratch because well, I don't feel like ending up under my house the next time I sit on my toilet. What isn't falling apart in places we can't see is just outdated & not pretty in places we can see. It happens.

No one create any drama this week. With construction men in my house, a partially working bathroom in a 1-bathroom home of 8 people, & a potentially levitating hubby, I should be all set for excitement for the next 5 days or so.