The Young Adventurers

Riding on the upper-level of a double-Decker bus.

We're nearing the 3 week mark of our Great British Adventure.  It's hard to believe!  It's also hard to put into words how I feel about this Adventure so far.  It's been exciting, and there have been so many new experiences, but at the same time, there is so much average day-to-day life and living going on as well.  After all, Tim is gone for 11.5 hours on weekdays and 6.5 hours on Saturdays, and he has been working some evenings in addition to that.  But he's way less stressed than he was at home.  Despite all the working, it has definitely been a break, and that's wonderful.

To be honest, I wasn't sure how things would be between us while we were here.  He would be working long days, and want some down time in the evenings.  I would be alone all day and want someone to talk to.  And we would be sharing a hotel room, with nowhere to really go to get away from each other if we needed to.  But so far, I think it's working out ok.

He knows I want to talk, so he takes the time to talk to me.  I know he's had a long day, so I try to give him some space.  I'm not saying things are perfect, or that they're always going to be good.  I'm just saying they're good now, and I'm grateful.

I also grateful that we get to explore and go on adventures together.  Usually at least one of his coworkers is with us, and that's great.  If we were on our own, that'd be great too.  I'm grateful that we have so much time here, and that we don't have to feel rushed to see everything, but because of his work schedule, we do have some structure in our lives and try to see things when we can.  But when we're tired, it's ok to turn in early.

It's also been kinda nice to feel like I have him to myself, and he has me to himself.  At home, it always feels like there's something else we should be doing-- church stuff, home stuff, dogburt stuff, seeing friends, running errands.  But there are so many fewer demands on us here, it's nice to not feel like I'm "competing" for his time.

We're having fun being spontaneous-- something that doesn't come particularly naturally to either of us.  Tim comes back from work on Saturday and says "what do you want to do?" I might have an idea or two, we see who will be joining us and talk to them, and then decide where we're headed while we're on the train to Waterloo.  Planning has it's place-- when you want to/ need to fit a lot into a short amount of time.  But that's not what we're doing.  And maybe when I get home, I will stop trying to fit so much into such a small amount of time so I don't have to plan everything (ha! As if.)

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I miss my friends!  But Tim is my best friend (besides God, of course, and I am LOVING the quality time I'm getting with Him), and I love having this time to invest not just in my marriage to Tim, but in my friendship with him.