D.C. Bound

The long awaited day for Rich's month long trip to D.C. arrived yesterday morning. It was a quick and relatively painless goodbye since we were cutting his flight a bit close even though he was flying out of Lexington.

Once upon a time there would have been many tears shed on my part followed by a bitter sting because of the physical distance that would be between us. But the pain was a bit dulled that morning, for me at least. After almost 12 years of marriage and months of separation after I had twins- twice, it seemed a bit like old times dropping him off at the airport. It is always sad, but not as sad as it had been in the past. It certainly is not because I love Rich any less than I did when we were engaged or married with a few children. In fact I love him oh so much more.

The true reason was because I wasn't the one going off on an unusual adventure totally alone. He has a future of long lectures all day, followed by quiet meals by himself, an empty apartment to come home to each evening and a cold bed to sleep in every night. I know what a hardship this is on him and I'm grateful he is willing to go and put in the time giving us a wonderful future.

How could I be sad or complain when I am the one getting the long end of the stick in this whole deal? I have it easy. I certainly am not going to be alone, in fact I usually get at least one extra warm body crawl into bed during some time in the night and no peace or quiet during the day and million hugs and kisses (mostly slobbery) and stories about crazy dreams and talks of toy wish lists and a ward full of loving people willing to help if needed. And best of all Rich was leaving me a part of him- five parts of him in fact. What would I do without my babies adding spice and joy (along with never ending messes!) to my life? I have no idea. Rich on the other hand was the one that will have work and silence and loneliness. I am sure his heart ached as we pulled away from the curb leaving him behind.

At least yesterday started the countdown toward the end. I don't mind the whole thing beginning because then we are finally actually moving toward the finish of it all. And that's the best part of all, knowing it will soon be done. I guess I have a similar attitude towards a lot of things that are difficult, for instance missions. It will be hard, but the reward is immense and the reunion is always sweet. You, as the mother, just have to put on a happy face and send them on their way knowing that it will make it easier on the prospective missionary knowing you are proud of what they are going to do and there will be help from good people and from above in their journey through.

Like missions, this is something that we knew was coming years in advance. Rich has known about this part of residency far before he chose his specialty. It was one of those random negative things we briefly discussed when he was in the process of deciding what he wanted to try to match in. We knew radiology had 3 sets of boards during residency- one being a killer physics test and that he would have to spend 5 weeks at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington D.C. But you just have to take the bad with a good and know that yes, it will be tough, but we will persevere through it all.

We tried to have an enjoyable weekend together before he left. The boys' basketball games filled Friday night and Saturday morning. We had a farewell dinner at Qdoba and then the reality set in and it was crunch time. Even though Rich had his exact dates for this trip for eight months, he was busy looking up bus routes and shuttles and train schedules on Saturday night. He began packing at 12:30 PM while the kids and I built blanket forts under the desk in our room. The trip was looming near, but the idea that he would be gone was hard to really think about or talk about since it was just easier to enjoy every moment together before he actually left.

Sunday morning arrived too quickly and we were rushing to get out the door. I had to laugh when we walked through the complete disaster we call the bedrooms upstairs and I spied a dollar bill on the floor. I told Rich he had better pick that up and add it to the small amount of cash in his wallet since it never occurred to me to head to the ATM that week. He said he had planned on it. It made me chuckle. That's a residents life I guess, keeping even the small bills. And you never know when a dollar or two might come in handy!

We arrived at the airport with 35 minutes until his flight left. He happily posed for pictures with all the kids before he had to say good-bye. The boys were giving him souvenir ideas while the girls blew kisses. I hated sending him off, but thankfully cell phones and airplanes make him seem not quite as far away.

When I called him later to see if he got checked in and through security he told me his bag was 9 pounds over and he was doing some major juggling with his small carry-on in hopes of avoiding the $90 fee for overweight bags. He ended up stuffing 3 sweaters, a bottle of Glucosamine and a few large Ziploc baggies stuffed with instant oatmeal packets (I insisted he take so he would at least have breakfast every morning) into his shoulder bag. Poor thing.

Then he discovered at the gate there was no airplane meaning he would miss his connection in Cincinnati since he only had a 35 minute layover. They rerouted him through Detroit which got him into Baltimore about 4 hours later than scheduled. He took a bus to the Amtrak train which took him to Union Terminal where he then rode two different metro lines and finally got to his apartment- 2424 Pennsylvania Avenue, just 8 blocks down from the White House.

And so the adventure (for us all) begins. I'll keep you posted.

Two more random things. I had a good laugh during our farewell dinner. We all walked into the restaurant around 8 PM and it was filled with college age kids. As we approached the counter one young female employee turned to the other server and in not a quiet voice exclaimed, "There are 5 of them!"- referring to our kids. It was so funny because we were right there watching her. I thought it would be fun to complement her math skills, but instead gave her a big grin and told her, "You're right. Two sets of twins. Lucky us." Five may have been the correct answer, but our attitude towards the number were complete opposites. It's all how you look at it.

Bringing me to my last thought. I gave a lesson to the young women after I dropped Rich off and it was about Finding Joy Now. I LOVE teaching, especially the young women because I learn so much personally as I think about the topic as I prepare and then actually give the lesson. I thought it was so appropriated for this particular time in my life. It basically taught the girls that you just have to decide everyday to see the good. Too focus on the positive and it will help you get through tough times, help you make good decisions and want to help and serve others. I love the talk President Monson gave in the last General Conference address that was entitled- Finding Joy in the Journey and I shared part of it with the girls. It was the one talk that stayed in my mind long after the other messages faded a bit from memory. We have to find the joy. Find happiness. Find love and share it. And peace, contentment and blessings will follow. They always, always do.

We LOVE you Rich!!! Hurry home!