I flew into Knoxville on Tuesday and back to Dallas on Thursday. It gave us the opportunity to share two dinners and two breakfasts. It gave us the opportunity to sit in the same room and breathe the same air. It gave us the opportunity to laugh together over four episodes of King of the Hill. It also gave us the opportunity to hold hands when we grocery shopped, to kiss goodbye when I headed to a meeting, and embrace hello when I returned. You called the time together holy, and indeed it was.
Every day that passes gets us closer to living in the same space together. It’s one of those long term goals that is quickly becoming a short term goal. I want that time to hurry up and then magically slow down during the time we are together. But my trip into Tennessee this past week tells me that it will probably pass like molasses on on August day.
In less than two weeks, you will be traveling to Dallas. I have a “to-do” list running through my head of what I want to get done before you are here: get the spare room in order for your stay, de-clutter my office, stock the pantry, schedule the yard guy…. And I have a list of places I want to show you and things I want us to do together, like visiting the Kimbell, eating Mediterranean food at the nearby Turkish Grill, and sharing our morning walk at my favorite park.
These days, I’m practicing the imperfect art of patience. Time continues to creep when we are apart. I’m sure that others in long-distance relationships will understand exactly where I’m coming from when I say that I want time to hurry up so that we can share our daily lives. Then I want that time to slow so that we can savor it.
