2nd to last time.

I’m typing this on a plane back to Chicago – this was Michael’s and my 2^nd to last weekend together before he heads out for Iraq. What an emotional rollercoaster! Of course that has been quite a common subject in my blog the past few times, I am aware, but luckily the “good” moments are still coming...and they even sometimes feel like they are coming more often even as we get closer to the goodbye for 6 months. I think one of the main reasons for this for me is the fact that starting this week I have three very busy weeks in the class that I teach, and after that we are into mid-term time so it will presumably continue through the end of the semester. Because of this, the fact that next weekend is the last one that I will be traveling and trying to work simultaneously AND deal with all of the emotional ups and downs being with Michael before his deployment brings is rather a relief. I mentioned this in my last entry I believe, but it is becoming more and more strong as a feeling.

We had a fabulous time this weekend. I flew in on Friday morning to Atlanta, and we hung at the hotel for a few hours before heading to dinner at an “Irish” pub – not bad food, but nothing to really write home about, either. We didn’t have much to choose from being just north of the airport unless we wanted to go into downtown, which wasn’t really something we wanted to do. Saturday morning I got some work done while Michael watched a movie and we headed into Atlanta after lunch. Michael had bought tickets to see his favorite band, Chevelle, about a month before, and so since it was a weekend I had planned to come down to see him we decided to just go ahead and stay in town for those 2 nights. Unfortunately, as soon as we got into town, the rains started again! We had planned to go to the park where Michael proposed to me to hang out, but ended up spending the majority of the time in the Lincoln either just waiting for the rain to stop and chatting or finishing a movie I was watching that I was going to be showing to my class this week! Luckily it did let off a bit eventually, so we got in about a 30 min promenade before the skies opened up again – but not before we got pretty soaked (even with our well-prepared umbrella!) on the way back to the car! We met up with one of his good friends, Chaz, and his girlfriend Vanezza and his stepmom Jackie, at the Melting Pot for dinner. It was fine, but again, not something we would do again. As Michael put it, he wouldn’t go back “unless I literally had nothing else to do”. So there you have it! Then the guys and me headed to the concert and Nezza and Jackie headed to see the play The Color Purple which was also playing in town that night. By this time the rain had stopped, which was good since concerts get sweaty enough without everyone’s clothes already being soaked! The concert, while not the type of music I normally choose to listen to, wasn’t bad. We managed to escape being in the VERY middle of the mosh pit (although Chaz ended up in it!) but I was concerned about my ears and the napkin that I had stuffed in them in lieu of earplugs, which I had forgotten to purchase beforehand! Anyway, I was glad to be able to go with Michael; he’s missed their past two or three tours out of the country, so this was great for him. He was glad I was able to be there with him, and also said to me afterwards that I can “drag him to any ballet, play, etc.” that I want! Ha. Maybe a Sarah McLachlan concert somewhere down the road.

After the concert we headed back to the hotel and yesterday drove back to Columbus for a night before driving BACK up to the airport. I’ll fly back again on Thursday through Monday, so I have a short but busy week – and I’m not even attending either one of my graduate classes! It is crazy. Thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray for us during this time. I would love to hear from any of you about how things are going in your lives, too – it’s nice to not always be thinking about what Michael is doing at work or what the other TA’s are up to, since it’s pretty much what I do, too :-) God bless.