Throughout Q1 (& the majority of Q2) of this year, I rarely spent time with my wife (other than us intentionally working out together at the Y). She unexpectedly landed two new, very hands-on clients right at the beginning of '24, therefore integrating them into her workflow (alongside the typical demands of Q1 pertaining to her existing client base) kept her very, very busy.
This summer has been all about travel. And not vacation travel but travel related to work / children's commitments.
On top of that has been the ongoing demands from my business coupled with drama from both my mother (who I work alongside) and Angie's mom (as it pertains to long-term care for both my mom's mom and my mother-in-law).
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The presence / reliability of my new best friend has been such a gift throughout what's been (so far) of 2024. The highlight was his birthday. I was able to gift him something that was very masculine and very personal. It wasn't a difficult gift to come up with but seeing him receive it as he did was so worth it. Also, that was the first time we hugged which meant a lot to me.
Second to this special moment in time was our kayaking trip immediately prior to Memorial Day weekend. He took his two daughters, and I took my youngest. The weather was perfect. Spending the day shirtless on the river, boating and swimming, was such the gift of memory-making.
What's unique about this friendship is the fact that he's not in any way involved in Samson Society nor does he have a need to be. Instead, the relationship is essentially built upon mutual respect and platonic love that's grown out of serendipity / providence (we met at Lakeside Pres) more than anything else.
In line with this uniqueness is his reliability as a communicator. He's consistently asking me about my weekend / week. And his interest is genuine. And though he's not a skilled writer, he does his best to muddle through the constraints of text messaging.
In a few weeks, he'll be starting a new job that'll require a lot of travel throughout the remainder of '24. I'm very pleased to see this vocational upgrade come to fruition, but I am going to miss lunching / seeing him at church. But absence makes the heart grow fonder. Plus, I know how to love from afar. If Samson Society has taught me anything, it's taught me how to do that.
A huge part of our love for each other has to do with what I like to call horizontality.
Though we have very different backgrounds / professions, we are neck-in-neck when it comes to values. Values regarding family, physical health, spirituality, Mississippi, friendship and so forth. In fact, I don't believe I've ever met any other Mississippi man who's as closely matched to myself.
And finally, yes, he does (now) know of my sexual identity issues (as they pertain to my adolescent years only). This, in line with my repeated shares related to my struggles with Internet porn (& the subsequent need for Samson Society), has provided him with enough of a picture of Rob to suffice.
What's cool is that he cannot relate to any degree (I've asked). And he doesn't pretend to.
Like my wife, this guy simply has a heart of gold and a halo that illuminates all around like a supernova.
This, combined with his lumberjack / mercenary physical build / air, makes him one of a kind. He's an absolute K-E-E-P-E-R.
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In closing, my oldest two daughters are now back in college. School starts, for them, next week. As such, our 1,550-sf house is so much less stressful. Plus, Angie and I can now go back to our sleep divorce setup which we both absolutely love.
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