Saturday and Sunday what?
Posted on July 1, 2007 - Filed Under Adult swim, Travel, Parenting
It’s been a very full weekend for me–full of Maggie. As you know if you’ve been following along, I spent the weekend of 9 & 10 June at Andrus WMA repairing fence so that cattle and big game could co-exist. Start counting–that’s 2 whole days with me not at home, leaving Erin to care for Maggie on her own. Then, on the 18th, I started the hunter’s safety course, which tied me up from 6pm-9pm Mon. thru Fri., for a couple hours Sat. morning, and a couple more hours the next Mon. This is, of course, all in addition to working my normal day. Then, I got my last set of papers from this group of students Tues. and needed to have them done by Thurs. Three nights to get 30 papers graded is not really a great deal of time; I was able to accomplish the task and be home most of Thurs. night. Sounds good, right? Well, except for the fact that I had a pretty big blowout with one of the other instructors during the day, which sucked away a lot of my mental and emotional energy, making Thurs. night one characterized by distraction. On Friday, as I was literally getting read to leave work, my boss told me she needed something from me that I have been putting off for a while. She didn’t just need it; she needed it that day. This work lasted until about 8pm or so. So, in the final analysis, I was seriously out of pocket in terms of being a present husband and father for about half a month. Not a big deal for guys spending 12 months in Iraq but a big deal for us.
So, as a way of saying thank you to Erin, I took Maggie for the weekend. Yesterday, we left for Boise at about 9:30am and got home at about 5pm. We went to the Sat. morning market and picked up elk and lamb meat. We also walked down to the Record Exchange and picked up the new Wrinkle Neck Mules CD The Wicks Have Met. It’s good and different from their first record; they are definitely evolving as artists. Then we went over to the Boise Gun Company so I could get my head around how much I am prepared to pay for a .22. I want this second gun because my marksmanship with my .30-06 is not the best. According to my co-worker JC, who is huge into shooting and hunting and is an excellent shot, he worked up to his high level of ability through ‘plinking’ with a .22. Being a good shot is vital for any ethical hunter; no one wants to wound an animal and have it suffer needlessly. The better shot you are, the more effectively, quickly, and ethically you will kill what you are aiming at. Anyway, the .22 is pretty much a starter gun and good for a novice to use to learn solid shooting technique. Then, we just sort of drove around Boise for a little while and scored some lunch at Quizno’s. Finally, we took the long way home on some dirt roads through some hills.
Today, Erin left for church at about 8:30am. She then did a day’s worth of shopping (of the female type which basically translates into buying nothing except groceries but taking all day to do it). She got home at 4pm. I am in wonder at how she does it everyday; the first thing I said to her when she returned today was that she deserves a medal. I think a man who is married to a woman who has decided to stay home and raise babies only has one course of action from which to choose when it comes to respect and gratitude for his wife–do whatever she says because she has earned it.
Anyway, so that’s the facts; tomorrow I’ll cover the philosophical side of things from the weekend.
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2 Responses to “Saturday and Sunday what?”
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Jason,
Good post. I’ll reply later in detail when I have more time (Cam and I are leaving in a couple minutes for a father/son fishing-camping trip in Cherokee for the next couple days). I’m interested in hearing about that “blow-up” you had at work, as well as an explanation on “Unitarian” churches. But real quick, just wanted to thank you and Erin for thinking of us and sending that membership card. We really appreciate it. I’ll call you after a bit when I get back in town. And good on you for giving Erin some time for herself. A lot of husbands/dads don’t realize how mommy needs those breaks. Take care.
Jake
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!