Skype

I had the most unexpected, romantic dinner with Husband the other night. It was my late morning and his late evening. I sat next to him as he dined in his hotel restaurant…on Skype. I watched his food being served and we turned down the volume and typed notes to each other throughout his meal. I honestly felt I was having a night out with him. It was very tender. And then, the funniest and sweetest thing happened. The owner had been watching us and had his violinist come to the table and serenade me via skype! A beautiful concerto played out over the air waves and screens and for those few moments in time, I was sitting next to Husband, basking in the warmth of our night together, immersed in the sound of music.

Skype to the rest of our family serves as a way to have daddy in the room. Sunday mornings we ‘turn him on’ and keep him up on the counter. We eat breakfast, do homework, read the paper and chat with the man in the silver flip box. His voice is so loud you actually don’t have to be that near to hear him! Last week I was outside on the sofa with my family, chatting away. My son was showing him his homework and then, like most boys his age, got bored and went out to play some basketball. After a little while, we hear, “Helloooooo, anyone there??? Helloooooo!!!!” It was the voice in the computer. He was abandoned in the kitchen. My mom said – not knowing that Husband was on Skype – “What’s that noise in the house? It sounds just like your husband blowing his nose.”

We then watched Liverpool vs Arsenal together. Husband had the prime spot in front of the TV, seriously, three inches from the screen, and we gathered behind him chanting, “Go Liverpool!” It happened to be a very tense, crazy game of over-time penalties, and we all screamed and cheered and high-fived, Husband included. It’s like one of those weird movies where daddy is quarantined and you can only inter-face through a screen. Thank goodness he has a nice face!

I told him that there is only one great thing about him being away; I can do whatever I want with the family, whenever I want. Husband runs late, I run early, and the boys pretty much run according to how loud I scream. So, if I choose to go to the beach, or a friend’s house, or for a walk and I want everyone to come with me, all I have to do is ‘raise my voice’ to get the train moving, and off we go. If Husband were here, we’d all be in the car just as he decided to do a bit of yoga or have some eggs. Nope, for the last ten weeks, yo soy Capitan.

Making all of the decisions regarding the boys is almost easier. Until…something goes wrong. And then my reign of being solo captain ends and I become desperate for the man in the box to come home and make the decisions, sort the conflict. One of my sons had a strange occurrence happen with school and I felt a bit shafted by the old school, man’s-world attitude. Husband needed to be there to calm me down and sort them out. Instead, my mom wanted to come with me to the meeting!! I love that about her. By the time I had bored my entire family and a few friends with my troubles, I found a clear voice and knew I could handle the situation. But frankly, it was a case for the Husband from the start. I am so grateful he survived being banished in Bulgaria – his stories from there are now legendary – and now will be coming back this weekend to balance Family Hamm again.