missing paul...

Okay. I'll be truthful. I wasn't all that sad that Paul was going to Germany. I thought about having the bed all to myself. I thought about reading books far into the night. I thought about being The Boss, not that Paul is bossy, but still. What I didn't think much about was how much I would miss him. We have texted back and forth, but tonight he called me. To hear his voice made me miss him all the more, even though we just talked about what he is eating for breakfast (eggs! He loves his morning eggs!), the fact that it has been rainy there and the hotel has no air conditioning. I also told him about the leaky pool hose, he knew just where an extra hose is, and I shouldn't have to go buy one. Big exciting stuff, but it was so nice to talk to him. I can't even start counting the days yet, there are still too many. wah.

He told me he will be going there again for two weeks in October, then two weeks in November. no fair. Well, it IS fair. He was offered this job, we discussed it, he accepted. Not that we had a lot of options. We are very thankful he has a good job these days. I don't know how I am going to remain optimistic when the next trip rolls around, seeing how much I miss him this time. It sounds like sheer torture.

Our birthday dinner was amazing. Grilled burgers with onions and garden fresh tomatoes, lettuce and dill pickle slices. I didn't have a bakery bun, but they looked yummy. We had salt potatoes (tiny baby potatoes boiled in lots of salt, served with lots of real butter)(I only had one), and watermelon, yum, and some cantaloupe. Then the ice cream cake...crushed chocolate sandwich cookies mixed with melted butter for the crust....semi-melted ice cream, topped with hot fudge and crushed cookies, squirty whipped cream, and more hot fudge. Then frozen in the big freezer. I had just a small bit of mint chocolate chip...then just a smidgen more. Oh dang, I had to get up from that table. Then I licked off the hot fudge spoon, oh I could eat a whole jar of that stuff. Phew. Back in the freezer, the rest of that deadly good pie.

Evelyn's friends stayed for a bit...Emily and Abigail stayed a bit longer. I simply love my two oldest daughters. Emily is amazing. She is having an article published next month in a nursing magazine, it has already been published in a book put out by the local hospital. She is writing more, I am helping her edit. I am impressed. She brought me to tears, made me laugh out loud. She looks at the world more tenderly than she knows. She thinks she is jaded, a cynic, from all the death and suffering she has been privy to in her life as a nurse....but her good kind heart just shines through. She is a giver. Tonight she took Jonathan and Sonja home with her to spend the night. She is funny and silly and has a memory for details that I can't hold a candle to. She is a hard worker, but she knows how to slack off and relax.

Then there is Abigail. She had that knee surgery, and I have spent more time with her in the last month than I have in the last year. And I am not taking it for granted, rather, I am enjoying every minute of it. Last week, I spent the night at their house with Jonathan, Char, and Camille. It was great fun, we watched several episodes of, "Psych", ordered a pizza, stayed up late talking, then had a leisurely breakfast while the kids watched some Disney shows. Anyway, Abigail is great too. She is a walking Movie Quoter. She can laugh at herself, she doesn't have a mean bone in her body, and she is a giver. She isn't a good cook, she eats like an old lady, (cereal for dinner)when Emily doesn't cook for her. She really has a heart for the kids, she is like Jonathan's best friend.

Yes, I have much to be thankful for.

But enough rambling for tonight. I am tired from my busy day, even though I didn't accomplish as much as I had hoped to. Tomorrow will come too soon....