Husband and Wife

One morning last week Chris woke up declared: "I need to go to California and fly in the Nationals ... on Saturday".

And I was all: "Wait.. not without me you aren't"...pause...longer pause....uncomfortable silence.

And more awkwardness. It took me a minute to realize the the only remedy to the situation at hand was to say nothing more and to walk away, which I did.

This is the first time in our 100 year relationship that I've been faced with Chris doing something really fun and exciting- without me. I can't say that my reaction surprised me all that much- I've always known that I have a bit of that Crazy Wife lingering in my blood, I'm reminded of this all too often by my brother who refers to it as 'The Crazy Blood'. And I can't deny that I do occasionally stomp my foot and speak from my diaphragm...o.k., yell, but it's never been a situation so bad that it couldn't be remedied with Wendy's fries and a frosty, but this time we were way past frosty status.

O.k., time for some soul searching. It took a while, but after a couple of days I came up with about a hundred reasons supporting Chris leaving for a week to have fun without me. You want examples? Hmm. 1) No snoring. 2) Finishing laying the strip stone patio without Chris telling my that my lines are crooked. 3) The freedom to read the trashiest of trashy vampire novel and not be made fun of- you get the idea.

Fast forward a couple of days. Chris: "Maybe I don't want to go to California after all."

Me: "Why don't you go to Utah and fly with your friends then?"

Chris:.... silence.

One hour later. Chris: "Why do you want me to leave town so badly?" (with a quiver in his lip)

I'm speechless. After all of my self therapy, you suddenly wonder why I'm being the coolest wife ever by supporting your need to blow a giant wad of cash just to sooth your need to sit around in the dirt and eat Vienna Sausages?

As tactfully as I could muster, I say: "So that you realize how much you miss me and that there is no fun without me. Plus, you'll be reminded of this over and over when your flying friends continually ask you why Sarah isn't here."

Chris: "They already are."

Yes, and that's all I needed to hear.

Fast forward a few more days. Chris is is Ca, The patio is almost finished, I'm on the last book of my vampire series and there is no snoring.