A tumultuous week

11/12/24

Well—where to begin?

This post is long overdue. The past week has felt like a whole year.

I'm writing this at 1:03 AM. I just got home from work a couple hours ago. As soon as I got in I fumbled through the dark, empty living room (we haven't got furniture moved in yet and there's no overhead lighting) and smacked into the corner that juts out from the hallway. My wife called for me after I started cursing. I stumbled to our bedroom door, left slightly ajar; my wife was in bed, not yet asleep. I laid down next to her and spent some time venting, then talking, then laughing. It's been such a treat having her here in our new home. Something as simple as talking to her after a long shift at work feels like such a luxury.

The more I enjoy her presence, the more melancholic I become. I told her tonight that I feel like I'm already missing her and she hasn't even left yet.¹ I also commented that I feel like we're finally living the married life, exactly a year after we got married.² It's about damn time.

We went to Goodwill today and got a lot of nice things, including:

• Clothes for myself
  • a nice rain jacket
  • a blue zippered jacket
  • a gray t-shirt³ (my wife found it)
• Clothes for my wife
  • a green zippered jacket
  • an blue, old-school, 80s gym teacher windbreaker
• A small, silver boombox radio to last us until I can purchase a proper Sony sound system off my older sister, who thrifted it for $25 in Chicago.
• A pair of large, wicker planters with liner pots
• An assortment of wicker baskets for miscellaneous storage around the house
• A wood-panel CD storage drawer in the same style as old school casette tape drawers.⁴

All came out to be about $77. Not bad, considering I'm part of the rewards program. You get $10 off for every $100 you spend.

We also stopped at Target to get two Owala thermoses we saw the other day. I've already got a 40oz tumbler from them (I love it!). My wife liked it a lot so she was convinced to get a matching Smooth Sip thermos. They have the new "leak-proof" sliding lock; I tested it a lot and it seems pretty reliable to me. I loved the color of mine⁵ at the store and when I got home, but now I'm having second thoughts. I'd appreciate unbiased opinions from people who aren't decompressing from a long day/night.

Tomorrow I'll be busy meeting with my wife's psychiatrist over Zoom. When she told him she was visiting around the time of their next follow up, he suggested I join in. I am looking forwards to it. It's always nice finding new ways to help my wife and accomodate her needs.

Speaking of my wife, she's asked me for help setting up a blog! I'm super excited!

Rest of the week is busy as well. Thursday I've got my dad's surgery, then class in the evening. I'm working Friday night, which I usually have off, because from Saturday-Monday my wife and I will be going to an AirBNB cabin for our anniversary. It is also our unofficial honeymoon re-do; last year, we caught Covid on our wedding night.

I'm sure I'll have lots to write about by then. I would like to start keeping a writing routine. Committing to something as simple as a note or journal entry has helped a lot. I'm hoping my idea list will keep me focused too.

Just realized I never even addressed the elephant in the room—the US presidential election. I will write about it at length eventually. One of my ideas is to write something in defense of optimism and hope for our future. Perhaps it is naive of me to make the effort, but I think it's a better alternative than resigning myself to doom and despair.

That being said, I hope everyone is doing well. Take care!

#blog #life #marriage