HIDING HIS EXCITEMENT

Paul is finally on his way home. He left me at 4:30 a.m. on March 27 in a little blue taxi. I sat in the window seat and watched his car turn the corner as if it were the last time I would ever see him. And then I went back to bed.

He was able to spend 12 days with his family in Northeast Ohio before heading to Dallas, Texas, for a week of aircraft training. I spoke with him last night as he was getting ready to head into his final simulator session. I told Paul he should have his instructor throw every bad thing his way and see if he survives. Turns out, Paul already had that plan.

I am confident that my husband is a good pilot because I have heard several people say it many times before. He is smart, he is calm in what should be stressful situations and he knows what to do when something goes wrong – all things you want in someone who flies you around in something 50,000 feet above the ground going what feels like a million miles an hour.

When I spoke with him this morning, he advised me that he was challenged beyond what he expected and even had a situation where his body was physically fatigued because of the effort needed to keep the plane in the air.

Now he is preparing for a 24-hour trip with two connections that are each less than an hour. His second flight starts boarding before his first flight is scheduled to land. Should we take bets on when he will actually be home?

He does miss his wife and he is excited to hang out with me and sleep in his own bed, but he apparently has no other reason to be excited to come back to Singapore. I was surprised to hear this, though I suppose I shouldn’t be. This isn’t the first time I have heard him compare life in Singapore to life in the U.S.

He misses the food. He misses his family. He misses college football. He misses the ease that comes with knowing where things are, driving yourself from place to place, being able to see friends and having a conversation that is completely understood by all parties involved.

I get it, but I am happy here. Let’s face it. I don’t like the U.S. right now and I don’t know when it will make me happy again. Yes, New England is beautiful but even New Hampshire is under the control of the government and the government is what I despise most.

We can get gorgeous views and cool weather in other places so why not try Europe or Australia? Maybe I could get into rugby or cricket. I’m game if he is!