My home has become a flop-house for exhausted men! Dave arrived home this morning after pulling his first all-nighter since retiring from the Navy. As the proposal deadline neared, his team worked through the wee hours doing final edits and publication for delivery today. Andy and I waited up for him until almost midnight watching an old Mystery Science 3000 movie from Netflix before giving up and crawling off to bed.
I woke up a couple to times during the night and was aware that he hadn’t come home yet. Trusting that he was alright, I rolled over and went back to sleep. When his alarm went off at 6:00 and he still wasn’t home, Izzie and I decided to keep to our routine. We came downstairs, made some coffee and Izzie cried at the door to be let out. Then I send Dave a text to make sure he was still alive. Even though I had convinced myself I would have heard something if he’d landed in a ditch on his way home or succumbed to a massive corinary, it was a relief to hear my phone’s melodic flourish when he responded to say he was indeed still alive and kicking.
Years ago, under similar circumstances, I would have been a basket case, working myself into a frenzy of fear. Then, there wasn’t the easy non-evasive easy touch of texting him. Instead, I would get up immediately the first time I woke up and found myself alone. From there I would set a blast-off time; negotiating with myself the appropriate time to take action. If I hadn’t heard from him in say, an hour, I’d make a call. Calling wasn’t easy either. Depending on where he was working, on a watch or shipboard, direct phone lines weren’t always the norm. The combination of no word and frustration of failure to connect fueled my anxiety allowing dramatic emergency scenerios to take my mind further and further into the dark night of the soul – always unwarranted. The next morning, and for the majority of the following day I would suffer dearly for the sleep I’d lost. Thank God nothing bad ever did happen! If it had, I certainly wouldn’t have been physically prepared to handle it.
I guess it’s part of that “with age comes wisdom” stuff. I certainly don’t love Dave any less than I did then. Simply put I have learned to trust that in most situations, everything will turn out alright. It has taken a while to get here but I am certainly enjoying the stay!
So for today, I am sort of alone. Andy has recovered from his jet lag and long work hours prior to his trip and is quietly working on his job applications. Dave is snoring happily in our bed. I am happy to have them both in the house, enjoying our non-together-togetherness.