So Much To Say

It's funny how time flies when you're having fun...yet when you think back on all you did, you realize just how long it really was with all you have to describe and explain. This is how I often feel about weekends...especially weekends with John.
This weekend was our last weekend together before he deploys. It definitely had its bittersweet moments (like the one where I burst into tears that he was spending too much time checking his email when I was doing the same thing...) but the overall glee and fun we always have when we're together far out shadows anything sad. It was exactly how I would have chosen to have it if I could. A perfect weekend, if you will.
Friday evening, John and I enjoyed a magnificent High Tea...so magnificent that I believe the Queen herself would be envious of my handiwork. All my effort paid off because John was stoked. Which is saying a lot since he already knew about it. I definitely did a good job, if I don't say so myself, and he was impressed which tickled me pink.
After stuffing ourselves on jams, clotted cream, scones, tea sandwiches, chocolates, and the finest tea around, we played a game of miniature golf down the road and then retired for the evening (but not before driving through a HUGE rain/thunder/lightning storm and catching frogs outside our house) and enjoyed sleeping in...something we both truly needed. (Note previous blog...I was up until midnight making scones.) Saturday we ran a few errands, got rid of some junk that had been cluttering our dining room since day 1 in this house, and enjoyed some awesome wings at a new joint, scarfed a delicious rootbeer float in old town New Bern and sat by the water, drinking in the scenery. One of the best things in life is just sitting somewhere with someone special with no agenda what so ever; nothing to do, no where to go, no one to see. Just chillin together. The song "Happy Together" comes to mind. In the evening, we watched Inside Man which I really liked a lot. See it. Good stuff.
Sunday. Ah Sunday. Sunday was definitely the difficult day. Or at least that's what I was expecting. It was our last Sunday at church before John left and I wanted to pastor to pray with us. As we headed down to get communion, it hit me. "This is the Sunday I've been dreading for months. It's here. Staring me in the face. Do I really have to do this?" And the answer was...yes. We had a really moving prayer with our pastor and he had the rest of the congregation pray over us as well as having military members and military wives come up to pray with us. It was...incredible. Afterward, I got the names and numbers of two other Marine wives there; one was about to embarq on her 2nd deployment with her husband away and the other was in the middle of her first. Another Marine gave John this advice: "Relay on your training, but always trust in God. The Marines are there to get your mission accomplished but God is there for everything else." Wow. During the prayer, I stopped crying altogether...something I wasn't sure I'd be able to do. I felt peaceful...and I knew then that this would be fine. That I could do this and I would do this. And do it well.
After church, we grabbed a bite to eat, dashed home, and then headed to Atlantic Beach to go to the aquarium and then later the beach itself. The aquarium held an unexpected highlight: I got to pet sting rays. I still haven't blogged about our ventures to Virginia and Baltimore but sting rays are involved and one thing I wanted to do in Baltimore that I didn't get to do was pet sting rays. Well...today I did just that. And I took my sweet time doing it. I can't even tell you the silly grin I had on my face the entire time. John has pictures and video to prove it. I also especially loved the otters. There was also the case of this 150 year old snapping turtle that weighed more than me. His name was Crunch and he was a LOT bigger than he looks in this picture. And this is what I'd look like if I were a hermit crab. Just so you know. After the aquarium, we hit the beach, enjoyed the waves, and napped briefly on our towels. It's just truly been...a great weekend. I'm SO grateful to God for that. I'm so glad we kept our attitudes possitive and didn't get John's fast approaching departure in the way of us having a good time together. Almost most importantly...we tried to take pictures together to remember it all by. I know they will be much more important to me in a few weeks.
I love you, John.