At Home Episode of Survivor

I returned on Sunday afternoon from 4 days in the Texas Panhandle. My parents were going to see their parents, and so I decided that I would tag along as well. Chris encouraged me to go and said I could leave the dogs. But, the thought of them pinned up for 10 hours in the office with all that furniture to gnaw on got the better of me, therefore we made the trip with the two dogs and Sidney, my parent's fat cat. It was Animal Kingdom in the mini-van.

Chris was on his own for 4 days, I imagined living it up like any good bachelor. As far as I can tell, it never bothers him when I leave, in fact, he usually wants me to go and enjoy myself. I, on the other hand, tend to be more selfish and never like it when he leaves me. My first evening away, he calls me and tells me that he's bought a whole fish to cook while I'm away as well as an octopus. This doesn't surprise me...I'm happy he's doing this while I'm eating horribly fatty foods in Texas.

But, things go awry quickly after that. Somehow his cell phone charger has disappeared. Because his charger is MIA, our only means of communication will be coming to an abrupt halt very soon when his battery finally gives up the ghost. The next night he uses Skype to call me (Skype is basically a telephone on-line). However, our microphone isn't working well on the computer and Chris's voice is continually beeped out. His frustration is rather evident, especially because he was planning on going rock climbing with some friends, but his telephone is dead so he can't retrieve their numbers.

The next day he calls after he's played flag football and mountain biked all day long. He wasn't in the greatest of humor and said he was ready for me to come home. After 3 years of marriage, I'd never heard him sound so miserable. However, there are a few things to understand about Chris before we conclude that a piece of him is missing when I am away. His mother warned me of two things: first that he has a tendency to overdo things (especially physical activities), and second, that I can try to stop him, but he didn't listen to her, and so I shouldn't expect my warnings to have any more merit. The only reason he's possibly had to slow down since we've been married is because we do alot of activities together, and I simply can't keep up with him though I try. Occasionally I have been known to assume a stern voice and tell him that no, he can't join the Everest Expedition next month in Tibet because we don't have $40,000 to spare right now.

It was revealed to me later, after a very unsatisfactory phone call with my tired husband, that after all those activities, he ate everything he could find in the house (including the octopus), turned on the t.v. and fell asleep on the couch without taking a shower. I suppose I can conclude from all of this that he truly does need me.