We were having a blast watching the game and sitting in the luxury suites (we felt so cool!). We talked about going out after the game because we weren't ready to go home yet. The game ended. The stadium emptied. We were both still in the suites talking to my coworkers and a couple others who were there too. We were about to leave when K called me. It was about 10:30 at night here in Texas. In Afghanistan, it was about 8 a.m. the next day. It was K's 28th birthday there.
He sounded really bummed. He said he was supposed to have taken a helicopter at 6:30 a.m. to the next FOB, which is where some of the guys he's in charge of are. The flight had gotten pushed back to Sept. 1. He and his lieutenant had already handed in the keys for where they'd been staying, and "the people" wouldn't give them back because some other guys were coming in that day and would be staying there. So K and his lieutenant would have to find somewhere else to stay for the next week.
I had been talking to K pretty much every other night. Since they're 9 1/2 hours ahead, he usually calls me any time from midnight to 1 a.m. I don't care what time it is when he calls -- I'm just always excited to hear his voice.
Well, when he called after the game, it was terrible timing. He couldn't hear me in the suites, so I walked back out into the stadium seats connected to our suite. The maid was trying to come in and clean our suite, and the stadium was pretty much empty. I had left ER inside talking to my coworkers. My middle-aged coworkers she'd never met before. Either way, I felt terrible. I didn't want to be rude to ER and my coworkers, but I felt terrible K was having such a ad day -- especially on his birthday. I was stumbling about trying to ask K if he could call me back in a bit when he figured it out and said, "You want me to call you back later?" I was worried he wouldn't be able to hear me as we walked through the stadium to get out. Then, ER would be left in silence as I talked to K on the phone. And I wanted to give him my full attention, which I knew would be hard to do through all that.
I felt terrible. My good mood and my desire to stay out longer were both shot. As I was driving home, all these sad songs with sad lyrics came on that seemed to fit the situation so well:
I love you/ I have loved you all along/ And I miss you/ Been far away for far too long/ I keep dreaming you'll be with me and you'll never go
I’m here without you baby/ but you're still on my lonely mind/ I think about you baby/ and I dream about you all the time
Naturally, before I knew it, I was bawling as I was driving home from the game. I really miss K, and I felt terrible for having to get off the phone with him. I hated that it was his birthday and I couldn't spend it with him, and on top of that, he was having a bad day.
I came home and got ready for bed. I laid in bed and put the phone next to me in case I fell asleep so I wouldn't miss his call. But I was too upset to go to sleep. He called me after a bit, and he sounded much better. That alone made me feel so relieved. We talked for a little over an hour. It was nice.
The next morning, I woke up 55. My eyes had huge bags under them from crying so hard the night before. It wasn't pretty at all. I'd slept until 11 a.m., and I had thought it was only about 9:30 or so when I woke up. I laid around a bit and finally got up and got some errands run.
ER and I spent a good portion of the day planning the evening's festivities. We were planning to set Jeremy and Emily up, so we made the final plans on that. We wound up going out to eat first, then going bowling and playing laser tag. It was really fun.
I had spent a good portion of the day also finding the perfect sized iron-on letters for a tank top I wanted to make (In case you're wondering, Michael's is the place to go for that!). I think it came out nice.
(Just so you know, the letters are straight. They just look crooked in this picture because I guess the shirt was crooked or something.)
So we had a blast that night. I think Emily and Jeremy hit it off. I got home that night and was typing an e-mail to K when he called me -- for the second night in a row! We talked for a little over an hour again, and he got off the phone with me because I was exhausted and he could tell. It sucks, though, because I hate getting off the phone with him. Every time we hang up, I get teary eyed. It sucks not being able to call him when something cool happens in my day or just to say hi. It sucks not being able to call him or text message him when "Sweet Home Alabama" -- our song -- comes on. Not to mention not getting to see him and give him a hug. On his birthday (and on mine!).
After we got off the phone, it was around 1:45. I took a shower and got ready for bed. I was exhausted when I woke up at 9:15 to get ready for church. I thought about not going. But I got up, and I went. It was nice. It's just always a pleasant way to start off the week.
Then, I came home and packed and drove to my hometown to get my windows taken care of so my car will pass inspection in the fabulous state of Texas. I really did think my windows were too dark, and I wanted to get them lightened. I just wanted to do it later.
I got an e-mail Sunday night from a woman in the Dallas area who I'd e-mailed about a washer and dryer sometime last week. She sent me a photo of the one she was selling. It is the exact same model that I had Appliance Warehouse pick up from my apartment last week because they're a bit too proud of it. This woman wanted to sell it to me for $75 cash. The very same model Appliance Warehouse wanted to charge me $33 a month for. I called the woman because -- clearly -- there had to be something wrong with it for her to sell it for such a cheap price. Turns out she's an elderly woman who's kind of sick, and she's moved in with her son. She said she's finally realizing she's not going to be independent anymore, so she's selling three bedrooms worth of furniture, and the washer and dryer are part of it.
I told her I'd have to recruit some guy friends to help me move it, but hopefully I could do it Tuesday or Wednesday. After we got off the phone, she called me back about 10 minutes later and said her son would deliver it for me, but he'd charge me. Ten dollars! She lives on the total opposite side of Dallas than I do. I said, "Ten dollars? re you serious? That's wonderful!" She said she was kind of shocked herself, but they just wanted to get it out of their garage.
I told my dad I kind of feel like I'm robbing them or something, but they're the ones who picked those prices.
My car windows got fixed today, too. And that only cost me $70. I was worried it would cost me somewhere around $200. I had no idea what to expect.
I'm so relieved and thankful, though. I had expected to pay about $150 for each of those two things. Instead, I paid just a little over $150 -- combined cost. Thank you, Jesus!
And I'm sure those of you who were concerned over my computer situation will be relieved to know that I have received in the mail my very own 160-gig external hard drive. My pictures (and videos and work and resume and ...) are saved!
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