Time well spent

  Warning – some information in this blog entry may come as a shock, however (as the author) I promise that all are true and sometimes “the truth hurts”.

Justin and I dated for a little over 3 years before getting married.  During that time, we spent most of our waking moments together!  Once we got married, we obviously also spent most of our waking moments together.  I, a teacher, and Justin, a bank employee, we share most major holidays!  So, very often when I had a 3-day weekend – so did Justin.   As newlyweds, this sounds awesome right??  Honesty – for the first year, these were not my favorite weekends.  They always started out great and I was excited we would have an extra day off to spend together, but by lunch time on Monday I was ready to go back to work.  I think the main reason was sometime around 8am on Monday, my guilty conscious (the one your mom instills in you that says “Get up off the couch and do some housework!” OR as Am and I call it - “the voice inside my head”) would kick in and make me work in the house or outside the house.  Justin (also one who likes a clean house and nice yard) wanted to take the holiday that was given and relax! Leaving the weekends to less than lovely.

Change of heart!

After Justin’s surgery last year, we spent LOTS of time together.  Even though there were frustrating times, due to the situation, it was awesome sitting and spending time together!  I don’t suggest volunteering for surgery OR clogging your arteries in order to have your chest cracked open, but I do suggest taking OR making the time!  I was reminded of this because of the surgery this year.  It is actually really nice to say that in the last 3 weeks, I could count the hours that Justin and I have been apart.  (It’s not many).  Spending time with Justin in ICU was quite an experience.  There is a reason that families don’t normally stay in ICU – you worry about every little thing.  After Justin began to recover, it was nice to be able be there with him the entire time.  Although, maid or servant, is not a title or job description I would have; being able to be there every time he needed a sip of water, or be fanned because he was hot, or need an ice pack, etc. was – time well spent.  As Justin recovered in the room, began to take strolls around “the block”, needed help getting out of the bed, or ordering his food; it was – time well spent.  Being able to help get Justin out of the hospital and settled in the hotel, get “comfy” in the hotel, lay down and need help getting up, put his shoes on to go for a walk, or just be there to ask, “do you need anything?” “Are you still ok” – all time well spent.

Spending a week at home, staying up late catching up on movies, sleeping in – just because we can, eating take out – I have no excuse for not cooking, putting his shoes on for him (just because this week he has to do it himself), sending a Best Buy list with his mom because this is what makes him happy, watching Transformers and Transformers 2 – because these are a great mix between “sappy” and “manly”, learning to watch baseball because he likes it, eating chocolate ding-dong cake together – feeding his bites to him just because he’s pitifully cute  - - ALL – TIME WELL SPENT!!