I am now officially "bacheloring" it for a while. I left my wife and daughter at the airport this morning at 5:30 a.m. to fly west to see our two sons and their families. They were anxious to go and I didn't want to take vacation time in the winter so I'm home and they are not. So far so good. The four hour trip home was uneventful on the outside of the vehicle and excellent on the inside. I listened to nearly three hours of Piper's book, Don't Waste Your Life, on CD, mingled with some great Christian worship music which I recently bought. And I had it turned up nice and loud! I had lunch at an A&W. It felt a little strange eating by myself with no one to talk to. Saturday is my regular day off and Patti and I often eat lunch out together that day.
Now I'm home and it's very quiet and I'm hungry. No supper smells going. No frying pans sizzling. I met a guy I know on the way home and he asked me if I knew how to boil water. I told him I'd figure it out.
I'm sure that for many of you, being on your own for a week or two is no big deal, but this is a new experience for me. I've been married nearly 34 years and I have not been by myself for this length of time. The few months between living at home and getting married were spent boarding at the home of an acquaintance who looked after me nearly as well as my mother and my wife. I don't recommend that for guys today. You need to spend some time on your own to learn how to look after yourself. Patti has gone away in the past to see family, but we had teenage or young adult children at home to help me out.
No doubt about it: I AM SPOILED. Even this time on my own isn't a fair test. Partly because she loves me and enjoys doing it and partly because she doesn't think I'll be able to make it on my own, my wife has cooked and frozen enough supper meals to last me the whole time she's away. Of course I will have to thaw them out and heat them up. Poor baby! Before we left for the airport yesterday I got a crash course on using the washer and dryer(I have done some laundry in the past, but very little), but I probably have enough clothes to last me if I don't do any. I also had a lesson on using the oven. Don't laugh; it's one of those digital ones!
I have lots of things I'd like to accomplish while the women are gone: finishing my income tax, getting more exercise than I normally do, and using the extra time as somewhat of a spiritual retreat--that is spending more time with the Lord in prayer and study as well as doing some extra reading and listening to some sermons. But with all the shopping, meal preparation, cleanup, laundry and so on I fear I'll be just too busy and too tired to get to any of that. If nothing else, I hope it gives me a greater appreciation of my wife--not just what she does for me, but also her companionship and friendship.
Well my stomach is grumbling so loud I can't hear my music so I have to go find some supper. Maybe I should just run over to McDonalds. I'll keep you posted on how it's going and you can feel free to share any advice you've gleaned over the years, or just tell me to grow up and stop whining.
Grace and peace,
Dave
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