Tech School Trip #2

          This trip was a little different than last time.  First, I was entirely alone on the ride, no dog to accompany me because they had no housing available to accommodate her.  So I got stuck on the fifth floor of one of the dorm/hotel buildings housing a lot of the single airmen stationed on base, and let me tell you, those walls are paper, freaking thin!!  Although the signs all over the place said "Quiet Zone - Airmen Living Space," it was a flat out lie - quiet zone my hiney!  Second, and most importantly, the hubs was on ATP which meant... overnighters!!  The inconsiderate neighbors didn't matter, because I was with my husband and I enjoyed every, single second with him!  Not a thing could ruin our time together, especially because he was mine from 4pm Thursday night until 10pm Sunday night - and I mean EVERY SINGLE SECOND!  I got to sleep an entire night, in the same bed as my husband, for the first time in eighty-seven nights - and it happened three nights in a row!

          Now I'm not sure how many of you have ever had to endure this.  Having been with someone, sleeping beside them pretty much every night for almost six years out of the eight you've been together, adjusting to how they move, twitch, contort, while they slumber, getting used to the sounds they make during REM, loving how his body is your own personal heater that offsets your naturally chilly toes... that becomes the norm.  You discover without that form pressed against yours, those arms encircling your torso, it becomes difficult to fall asleep, and if you are lucky enough to catch some dreamless rest, you certainly aren't refreshed when you awaken from it.  I've had to endure that never-satisfying snooze, the endless yawning, always groggy, constantly-seeking-rest state for the past three months... until last weekend.  And even if I only did get three days of amazing, blissful, fulfilling repose, it was quite possibly the thing I've been most looking forward to returning to normal.  But it wasn't so much the sleep that I'd even been missing.  More simply, it was the routine.  I missed starting and ending my day with only him in my vision.  I missed the sharing that occurs between the embrace of fluffy, down-feather pillows and clean, comfy, cotton sheets.  I missed the love that radiates from a simple brush of his skin, a whispered 'I love you', or a good-morning kiss.  I missed the giggles and smiles that fill a dark room when neither of us want to close our eyes because we'll no longer be looking at one another.  And although I was only allowed a small sample of what I'd been missing out on, what I'd desperately been aching for, it was enough to get me through until the next time I'm with him.

          But enough sappy, young-love nonsense :) - the weekend was otherwise very nice, relaxing, and quite simply put - perfect for us.  Allow me to preface the remaining lines by saying, a lot of our time was either spent in bed or eating, so prepare yourself :)  We had a late dinner on Thursday night at this placed called "Snapper" something or other.  My love had seafood, big surprise there, and I was delighted with a lovely rib-eye, as fish is so not in my scope of what I find appetizing.  Friday we slept in late (for us anyway) getting up around 9am!  We had lunch on base and followed it up with a little golf.  I was an expert score-keeper and golf cart driver, escorting the actual golfer around a very confusing and apparently easy course (the pro got a birdie on a par 4!!).  Around the fifth hole, he ended up joining the pair of guys playing in front of us to make it a bit more interesting and a tad more social.  I had a blast, especially because it wasn't 1000 degrees, and he got to play golf for the first time since November!

          After golfing, we found a hole-in-the-wall pizza place called "Bootleggers" with the best Chicago-style pizza I've ever had outside of Chicago!  We watched the Orlando/Dallas game while we gorged on tasty slices and got back to the room and into bed on the late side.  Saturday was much lazier, and we even slept in a little later - like 10!!  We had lunch in the room and watched episodes of Psych that I brought with me (our favorite show!)  I read while the hubby played some Skyrim and when he fell asleep for his "afternoon nap" (he's such an old man!) I took over and played a little.  Then we went out to a nice little restaurant called Jazzeppi's, a jazz-inspired Italian restaurant, which turned out to be jazz-less, uninspired, overpriced, and kinda crappy - ya live and ya learn.  So instead of ending the night on a low note, we decided to go to the pier and enjoy the amazing sunset and the fantastic breeze, deciding afterwards to get some tasty good ice cream on base.

          Sunday we contemplated driving to New Orleans for the day, but since he had a curfew and we didn't want to risk anything, we decided to push that trip off until next time I visited him.  Instead, we had movie day and lazy day number 2, ending it all with a hot, steamy bowl (well 2 for my love and leftovers for him and his roommate) of homemade chili that I was crafty enough to prepare in a hotel room with my handy-dandy crock pot.  I dropped him off at his dorm around 9 because he had some laundry and some studying to do before PT and his classes on Monday.  It was a much harder goodbye than the last time, and I found myself getting all crybaby on the lonely ride back to my hotel room.  I read myself to sleep and headed back home bright and early on Monday morning.

          All-in-all it was a great trip, but hey, anytime I get to spend with my husband is great.  It's especially great that he values our time together and looks forward to it as much as I do.  Knowing I have a man who loves me and misses me just as much as I love and miss him makes my heart swell with emotion and longing.  We were literally made for one another (not to sound cliche at all - I literally mean we were created to fill the void in each others' lives... it's scary sometimes really) and as he tells me all the time, "I can't wait to really start living my life with you, and by with you I mean actually with you, in the same room, in the same state..."  I can't wait either babe.  It'll be a long day comin' :)

Until next time...