Friday, November 4, 2022

Diary of an Air Widow

 A note about the title: A golf widow is a woman who is abandoned by her husband while he plays golf. If he abandons her to go hunting, I suppose she's a deer widow, or a gun widow. If he goes for a pack of cigarettes and doesn't return, she's a grass widow. And if he flies away to foreign country ...

Day 1, Thursday, Oct. 27: About 1am, we lay beside each other in bed, reading our phones or Kindles. It seemed pointless to sleep, but finally we did, for an hour or 90 minutes. At nearly 3am, I drove him to the Jacksonville airport and dropped him at the curb. He had a new haircut and old luggage, and looked very handsome. The dogs were surprised I came home without him, and settled in to wait. They have no idea ...

I wasn't distressed by being alone. I had a good lunch and dinner, leftovers from things we had cooked before he left. I did some chores. I texted with our son:
    Aaron: Hi all! I'm still alive! Are you?
    Me: Your father, like a cold, is airborne ...

The day passed, I'm not sure how. Steve and I chatted back and forth, but he was pleased to be in Washington State with his friend Jim, and didn't want to linger on the phone.

Day 2, Friday, Oct. 28: I put the liquid shock in the pool, and ran the pump & the Polaris for about an hour and a half. The pool is looking pretty good, but the pool deck - oy. I need to scrub it with Clorox, but I can't seem to find the energy.

Day 3, Saturday, Oct. 29: I meant to go to Saturday Market to get some fresh veggies but it "plumb eluded me." This was mostly a lost day, as was Friday, as was Sunday. Time drags. I keep up with my chores, tend the livestock, toil in the garden, and so on.

Day 4, Sunday, Oct. 30: I slept. I read. I ate. Other than that? No idea ...

Day 5, Monday, Oct. 31: Halloween: We never have any kids come by, so I went to bed early (for me), about 10pm. But before that - I made barbecue in the crock pot and created a YouTube video of it! My first video for public consumption.

Day 6, Tuesday, Nov. 1: Bill paying day. It is such a blessing to be able to pay them without choosing: this one? or that one? Of course, when I'm done there's no money left, but still ...

Day 7, Wednesday, Nov. 2: Grocery shopping! I went to Winn-Dixie for just a few things - we were completely out of dog food! - and was disappointed when I spent $150 or so. I filled the Sedona's gas tank, so that was another $50. An expensive day! I was very tired, but ate my deli chicken strips and put away the groceries, and generally behaved like an adult - not a mode I really enjoy, but there you are.

Steve is flying to Manila, and Aaron has flown to Stockholm for a business meeting.

Here ended the first week of my November widowhood.