So consider this a sequel.)
In all the fear and stress about Will deploying soon, there is one quote that keeps coming back to me:
"Live every week like it's Shark Week."
I know. That right there should tell you all you need to know about me. People have died, my husband is heading to a hotbed of insurgent fighting, and I find a way to deal with it in an old episode of 30 Rock.
I'm looking at the deployment as Shark Week. Which I guess makes Will potential chum. Wait, no. That's depressing. If the deployment is Shark Week, then Will is Quint, the crusty old shark hunting fisherman from Jaws.
Crap, never mind. He dies.
He's Chief Brody! That's it! Chief Brody lasted for at least one of the craptastic sequels.
Anyway.
What was my point?
Oh yeah...live every week like it's Shark Week.
Basically, I want to spend the next four months spending as much time with him as possible, doing all the things we've talked about doing but never got around to doing over the last 13 years.
Which, to me, can be rolled into one big ball of awesomeness called a second honeymoon.
We haven't been on a vacation just the two of us in at least 11 years. We went on our honeymoon to Maine, and then we made another trip back to Maine once before Ben was born. Since then, we've always had at least one kid with us.
Paris? Kid. Spain? Kid. Italy? Kid. Switzerland? Kid. Austria? Kid. Luxembourg (why yes, it is a country)? Kid. Florida? Kid. Savannah? Kid. New England? Kid. D.C.? Kid. You get the idea.
And we have a little bit of money from our move (side note: The military is paying a lot less for DITY moves as of this past April. We kind of got screwed because we didn't realize the rules had changed when we opted to do it ourselves. If you're military and thinking of doing a DITY, check into the new payment rates). And I thought that Will be up for using it for a sweet vacation without kids. You know, because hello! SHARK WEEK!
But no.
He's all for a vacation, but he doesn't want to spend any money. His main suggestion--Gatlinburg, TN. I'm sure it's lovely. I'm sure we'd have fun. And I'm sure it's cheaper than a beach condo in Florida, or a week on Catalina Island, or flying to California and renting a convertible and making our way up and down the Pacific Coast Highway. Those are vacations that say you're living every week like it's Shark Week.
Gatlinburg is more, "Live every week like you fell in a Koi pond at the Chinese buffet."