Absence and the Heart

I'm SO over Gainesville. After visiting many, many times for D1 and now D2, I've had more than my fill. Wifey's back was bad for a few years, so she didn't travel, and I picked up the slack. So, she went to visit D2 last weekend, for some mother/daughter bonding.

It's funny. Over the years of our marriage, when we travel, I take care of everything. Wifey enjoys the luxury of merely enjoying the scenery, while I mess with maps (now GPS) and lead her on and off airplanes, rental cars, etc...

So, spoiled as she is, she found the simple trip to Gainesville a bit daunting --what time should she return to the airport, how to get from GNV to campus, etc...

I'm proud to report she acquitted herself well, and had a successful trip --she and D2 took old friends to dinner, and laughed, and enjoyed each other's company. They even shared an adventure --a 7 am fire alarm at the Downtown hotel, which caused a not very happy D2 to lose precious non dorm room sleep...

Meanwhile, I enjoyed a weekend of bachelorhood. I poured myself a few vodkas Friday night, and lit a fire in my outside pit, and even took a rare dip in my JAcuzzi, as I stared up at the stars.

Saturday night, my neighbor Pat (his wife was also away, in Phoenix) and I headed to Anthony's Coal Fired, and drank beer and wine and ate pizza. We joked that some guys in our position would head to strip clubs. We prefer pizza.

D1 kept me company late Saturday, after returning from a babysitting gig. I greeted her Sunday am with fresh bagels, and then we took a glorious walk around the 'hood with the aging LAb and the frisky grand dog. She left, and it was soon time to fetch Wifey.

Short separations really do help a marriage. I found I missed her, by the time she came home. I picked her up, and we headed home. We stopped at a burger place, one we hadn't visited in years. She ordered dolphin. I got the 2/3 pounder.

I coudn't finish it. It's the first time I've EVER left part of a delicious burger on the plate. As Wifey devoured it, she remarked "Oh no --hamburger impotence --a sign of an aging man."

She's funny. It's why I keep her around.

We took our second walk in the gathering dusk, this time sans grand dog. We talked about our girls, and the weekend, and it was lovely. I told her I was happy to have her back.