I wiped coffee bean remnants from our kitchen counter before tackling a pile of dirty dishes. Kitchen cleaned, I opened a Hello Fresh bag. So, by the time Don arrived home from work, a tasty dinner sat waiting.
Hello Fresh meals have revolutionized our marriage. My husband, who once refused to attend a cooking class with me, now prepares delicious food on his own. Sometimes we cook together. But often we take turns.
One night last week, I pulled into my garage, planning for dinner prep. But before I even opened my car door, a sweet herbal fragrance assured me I needn’t worry. Don was at the helm.
As a result of our newfound abilities, we eat in more than out. Quiet evenings at home often end with a movie or crime TV show. But the other night, Don surprised me by saying, “I have to show you something,” before disappearing for ten minutes.
As I waited... and waited... I wondered what could’ve pulled him from our routine. While I considered many options, none came close to reality.
“Here,” he declared triumphantly as he sat beside me with his lap top. “Watch this!”
Soon, I was traveling through back country roads thanks to a recording from Don’s dash cam video. While it sure seemed like he was driving too fast, he claimed otherwise. So, we watched... and watched... as he wound through tree lined back streets... until a fuzzy fur ball crossed the street.
“Look!” he exclaimed. “That was a cougar… or something like that.”
He rewound the film more than once and we watched the fuzzy fur ball cross the street... again and again.
“It was better in real life,” he asserted. However, when he was done watching the cougar, he added, “There’s more.”
Shoulder to shoulder we wound up, down, and around more hills and valleys. Ready to give up, but not wanting to disappoint my spouse, I sat only somewhat patiently... until the young buck appeared on screen.
“See,” he exclaimed, “I almost hit that deer.”
Feigning excitement, I thought for sure we’d switch back to TV. But Don kept at it, “There’s the house where I sold a bunch of windows... See, the time stamp proves I was there for three hours.”
Again, I thought we’d move on. But intrigued by his travels, Don advanced the film five minutes at a time, “Look, that’s where I had to wait at a long red light... Now, I’m getting on the highway... See those slow cars? They kept me from merging until that red one went by.”
As Don's narrative continued, I drifted from the moment... and suddenly felt very old. Like older than I’ve ever felt pushing my walker.
And it got worse.
After advancing several more frames, Don said, "Listen, that’s me leaving you a voice mail."
“Oh, I have that one on my phone,” I murmured. And without thinking, I picked up my cellular device, opened the voice mail app, and said, “I bet we can match your voice on both devices at the same time.”
And that’s what we did. Mesmerized by our equipment, we synced our devices and played his message to me with only a slight echo.
And I'm thinking I should be worried.
Hopefully I'll know by mid-week. My prayer is that they'll find a slot for me before the end of the month. Cause I do okay for a few days and then the pain lets loose and Don and I end a day reliving his day.
For now, I'll close with a song a young student has been working on. I love singing the words to the gentle groove. The settled rhythm offers the right feel for my current flow.
We have Hello Fresh, proper shelter, air conditioning, running water, tasks to complete, and a God who meets us where the hills turn to valleys and fuzzy cougars run across the road.
So enjoy. Sing. Cook. Get so still you wonder if the world's still turning. And then rest in His love.
All photos courtesy of pixabay.com
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