Fourth of July

Looking back, I was surprised to see that I had not updated since Sunday. Things have been moving along at a fast clip so I guess I lost track of the day for a minute there. I think my lack of writing is partially a result of having to read two novels on Monday (Time Traders and A Wrinkle in Time) and then having my professor rework my sci-fi paper idea into something completely different that required a five-hour trip to the library for research on Tuesday.

Then on Tuesday night I got a call that definitely made me forget everything. You see, I woke up this morning with this in the parking lot:
That would be my husband's "box-like" car that I described in an earlier entry. We were talking last night about our upcoming trip to Martinsville this Saturday and got off the phone so he could go to bed. Then, about 10 minutes later, he calls me and tells me that he is coming in the morning to see me! We both had Wednesday off so he decided that he didn't want to sit around the house or see Transformers with friends when he could be visiting me. :-) Such a smart man.

We talked about what time he could get here in the A.M. when he decided that he was going to come THAT VERY NIGHT! He started rushing around getting clothes together and feeding the cats, and I got very giddy at the idea that I would see my husband again after a week and a half.

He pulled into the parking around 1:30AM; it's times like that when I am grateful that my roommates are mostly night owls who are still up that late and weren't disturbed by our sudden tramping up and down the stairs. Everything squeaks in this place. Doors. Floors. Cabinets.

We got up this morning and went for a two-hour hike on a trail off the Blue Ridge Parkway and went downtown for lunch. Roanoke, despite its awful highway system and exceedingly slow drivers (my two major complaints with the town), has a thriving downtown area with a daily market and plenty of unique little shops. It was nice to share it with him and we even got matching "Bush's Last Day: 1-20-09" bumper stickers. The owner said they were very popular. Cough, cough. I can't imagine why.

He had to leave a little after 4PM so I went upstairs and talked to my lovely sister who is moving in ONE DAY to Pennsylvania. It's a bittersweet event for the family because they are moving on to very nice digs and lots of opportunities in PA but this is the first time someone in the immediate family has permanently left the state. So I'm excited for them, yay! But I'm bummed that my sister, her husband and my nephew will no longer be so close by. We take family for granted, you know? Here's my favorite picture of Phoenix, the cutie-patootie:

Phoenix, my darling nephew

Then I went to a 4th of July gathering at my apartment complex where I ate a variety of potato chips and cookies (I DO NOT do hot dogs) and played a game of Cranium with some classmates. My team won, partially because we knew that Joseph Smith followers are called Mormons and how to spell genuine backwards.

Now I'm settling in to finish Coraline by Neil Gaiman and anticipate another reunion with Bryan this weekend. I'm trying not to gush about him too much, but, man, he's such an awesome husband. Seriously. We have such a fun life together and I am overwhelmed sometimes by how much we love each other and how happy we are when we're together. I wouldn't say that we took each other for granted before this but we were very comfortable, and this experience has made us see how difficult life can be without your "favorite person" (Bryan's particular phrasing) around. Bryan is such a good man, and the fact that he would drive 3.5 hours in the middle of the night so he could sleep next to me is pretty special. End of gush. Sorry.

Tomorrow I will discuss the end of the world. Stay tuned.