The One with the Dolphin Eyes

 My husband has been on medical leave for 20 days…

Twenty. Days. Out of seventy-five.

Now before anyone thinks this is a complaint post, let me be clear. I love my husband dearly. He is a wonderful father, a good man, and what I affectionately call my Grizzly Bear man. Big heart. Protective. Loyal. Occasionally wanders into the kitchen looking for snacks like he just woke up from hibernation.

But normally… my Grizzly Bear goes to work.

And I run the forest.

Lately, however, he has been my constant companion. Errands? Together. School pickups? Together. Random trips to the store where I buy 14 things and forget the one thing I actually went in for? Together.

Also worth mentioning: this conversation happened in a house with five children, a stomach virus that has been making its rounds like a medieval plague, and a sink full of dishes that have “needed to soak” for… quite some time.

I had also just recovered from said Death Virus. Physically I’m fine. Patience-wise… still rebuilding.

 So in that boiling pot of stress, we decide to plan summer vacation. We are being creative this year with our budget since we just paid off our 2nd vehicle early (goodbye car payments! 🙌) and began talking about a beach trip. A normal conversation for us would have typically gone... someone says:

“Should we do a dolphin tour?”

And the other person says:

“Sure, that might be fun.”

But somehow through a conversational pathway only married people understand, we ended up in a very serious- no- HEATED debate about dolphins. Specifically, whether a dolphin tour would be boring. 

Me: "its a boat.  In the ocean. There's dolphins.  Explain to me how thats NOT a good time?"

Shane: "You would only see their head and fin in the water. You wouldn’t see their eyes."

Bless his heart 

Apparently if the dolphin doesn’t make eye contact, the whole experience lacks meaning.

Living in this much togetherness will make you reflect on life. Even when the person is wonderful. Even when you love them. Even when they are a very handsome blue-eyed man with tattoos that you couldn't breathe without.  You eventually find yourself debating marine eye visibility. 🙄🙈

When we both heard ourselves out loud, the conversation ended the way most  married debates do. Not with a winner, but with a soft landing.

Shane leaned over, kissed my forehead, and said very sincerely,

“There’s never too much togetherness.”

And I kissed him back and  reminded him what every married woman eventually learns.

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder, love.” and we both laughed while I washed those dishes that are never fully over in our house of 7.  

Marriage is a gift. A partner you can laugh with is a blessing. 

But sometimes the bear needs to go back to work so the forest can miss him a little.

 And if we do take that dolphin tour this summer, I sincerely hope one pops up, makes deep eye contact with my husband… and silently tells him his wife deserves a solo Target run.

As I shut down the house to get ready for bed, I laugh to myself over how serious we got over something so silly...I realize I don't even care about the dolphin.

Just show me the ocean.

Or honestly… even a bubble bath.

Calgon… take me away.

*written with the laughing approval of said Grizzly Bear ❤️