What will I do while he’s gone?

Like most people (I think, anyway), I do things a little differently when my partner is gone. I’m more diligent on some things; I definitely get up earlier. What’s the point laying around awake in bed if there’s no one there to cuddle with?

My 20-year-old-self is swearing a blue streak at me right now.

I also keep the kitchen cleaner while he’s gone. Part of that is of course, there’s only one person making a mess but more specifically, I generally don’t cook anything while he’s gone either. I might warm up a pre-made something from the freezer but the pots and pans are not going to be used much while he’s away. My eating patterns will immediately go back to the grazing style I had before we met, nibbling on this and that throughout the day. It’s easy to keep a kitchen clean when you’re not really doing anything in it.

Oh yes, there will be shopping…

I’ll head out and visit the nursery (plants, not children) and start planning for the garden in months to come. Most of the nurseries close here over the winter but there’s one up in Vernon that I love to roam around in. I’ll spend too much time (and quite possibly too much money) in a bookstore. We have a fantastic independent bookstore in downtown Kelowna; independent bookstores are few and far between anymore and this one is a real gem. It’s not an understatement to say I could spend hours in there.

And then there’s what I’ll watch on TV. Our television consumption sticks pretty much to two platforms; Crave & Netflix. We, of course, have our own profiles in Netflix but when we’re watching together, we always use John’s. Which I am grateful for because then our less-than-popular picks mess up his algorithm, not mine.

But with him gone, I’ll be binging the stuff that is just not up his alley.

I’ll stay up later. Hopefully, I’ll write more; hopefully. I’ll fill the empty time with more of the things that I already do but really enjoy doing. And I’ll miss him. I honestly think these little breaks are a bit of a blessing given we are both home all day every day. Together. For months on end. That much time with anyone, even someone you love, can be a lot. We’ve been lucky I think… we’ve only driven each other really crazy a couple of time but boy they were doozies. And who hasn’t?

But three days from now, I will be excited to see him. I’ll be more relaxed knowing he’s back home safe and sound. And I will snuggle up to the man I have missed.