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Day 6: The Invisible Man
August 24th, 2008Day 4
August 22nd, 2008Today was an emotional roller-coaster ride. My mood went from doom and gloom in the morning to very hopeful by the end of the day.
Work started around 8:30 AM. My planned day was thrown out of the window early in the day due to a co-worker having a login issue with her computer that I was never able to resolve.
At 2:00 PM, I drove to Jon’s place to eat. While there, I shared with him that a particularly troubling situation had popped up. He offered help, and I cried heavily. Supportive friends are an awesome answer to prayer from God.
Since I don’t have Part 2 work days on Friday, I had the opportunity to spend time with Noah. I called the house just after 3:00 PM, and spoke to Mel for a few minutes. I let her know that I would be stopping by the house right after work to pick up Noah for the night.
Day 3: The Benefit of His Gift
August 22nd, 2008Early mornings elude me, and a shortage on sleep has appeared. I’m exhausted in every sense of the word.
Work began at 9:15 AM this morning. Having the day planned already was nice, but I had to rearrange the plan a couple times. It was nothing too drastic and workable. I departed for Jon’s place at 1:00 PM.
Jon and I met Pastor Dan at Los Rancheros for lunch. Jon treated me to another lunch, and we caught up on current developments. I explained my purpose for continuing to be committed to my wife, and I reiterated that the strength I have right now is not coming from me. Our conversation was very similar to one I had with Nate last night.
I want my wife to get better; that is the reason I am away from home. When the time is right, I want us to get better together. I pray that everyone involved knows this, and will help us get there. I believe that God will provide a way. Of course, freewill has a role, and that is why I am still here. There is no other choice for me.
Lunch ended in prayer with Pastor Dan and Jon. My ride was still at Jon’s, so I rode back with him before departing to begin the rest of my work day.
Part 2 of each work day is almost always the same. My alertness varies from time to time, and the work is actually quite boring. Of course, that doesn’t help. I think I would go nuts without my iPod or my phone. They are my only windows during that time of the day.
I didn’t eat again tonight. Instead, I watched videos on my phone. I had hoped to chat with some friends, but the two I called where not available. So, videos had to do. JK did call me back later and left me a voicemail though. I look forward to spending some time with him and his family very soon.
I didn’t hear from anyone in my family again today. So, I don’t know how Marj is doing, and I don’t know how the kids are doing. For me, this lack of communication is stressful, and it makes me question where I stand with my family. I want nothing more than to be there to help wherever I can, but I understand why I can’t for now. Today, I struggled with, “Do I call?” for a big portion of the day. In the end, I opted not to. Please pray for God to give me guidance in this.
Prayer is a wonderful benefit of His gift. Without it, I would be lost in this mess. So far, prayers about my attitude and comfort have been answered. Now, I feel I should focus prayer on Marj instead of myself. It seems ridiculous to me that I haven’t spent more time praying specifically for her instead of “us”. So, I will spend more time praying for her swift healing, solace, wisdom and direction from God. Please join me in this also.
I will have more to share tomorrow. Thanks again for your support!
Day 2: A Long Day
August 21st, 2008I fought to get out of bed this morning. I did not want to move, but I relented at 7:15 AM. Establishing a new morning routine is going to be difficult. I want to stay as mobile as possible, so I am packing items away after I use them. This means I will need to unpack them every morning. I may need to rethink this a bit.
I arrived at work around 9:00 AM, and I spent the majority of my time getting caught up on emails. Also, tomorrows work day now has a plan waiting for me to attack. I departed at 1:00 PM.
I pulled into Jon’s “driveway” at 1:30 PM to chat and eat lunch. We didn’t really chat much, but that is OK. I didn’t really have anything to say. I appreciate him offering to feed me again today. A couple bologna sandwiches and an apple hit the spot. Jon played Lego Star Wars II before I had to take off for work. I wanted to see the Emperor since Jon shared a story with me about something reminding him of that character. The hour I had with Jon was not long enough, but I ran out of time and needed to head downtown again for part two of my work day.
I am grateful that I am able to work these jobs. It allows me to provide better financially for my family. However, until the events of the last few days, I’ve looked forward to consolidating two jobs down to one for the same pay. For now, I’m glad that I’m keeping as busy as I am. It is keeping my mind busy so I don’t go crazy only thinking about not being home and the possibility of losing the people I love so much.
No one from my family contacted me today. I miss them all incredibly badly. Please pray that this all passes according to God’s will, and as swiftly as possible. The fear of this situation lasting a long time/permanently overwhelms me at times.
Thank you to everyone for the support you are providing. It means more to me than you can imagine. Goodnight everyone.
Day 1: In God’s Hands
August 20th, 2008Today was the first day away from my wife and family. The details of why I am away from home will not be posted here; let’s suffice to say that Marj and I need some time apart. We will make it through this with prayer. Please pray for us.
So, why am I documenting this time away from my family? I don’t want to be in this situation ever again. I love my wife and family, and I don’t want to be away from them. This time away is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.
Day 1…
I woke up around 6:45 AM and got up around 6:50 AM. I showered, dressed and started assembling items to pack. Around 7:30 AM, I had my clothes gathered and started to take them downstairs to the office. Noah, who had been sleeping in our bed, awoke after hearing me move my things downstairs. He pointed out that I had shoes in a bag, but had a pair on as well. He didn’t understand what was going on, which is good.
By 8:30 AM, I had all the things I wanted to take packed in the car. G-Pa decided to take Noah to the grocery. So, I gave Noah a hug and a kiss, and I told him that I would see him later. I left the house shortly after 9:00 AM.
Since I had made arrangements to work from home in order to watch Noah during the mornings this week, I didn’t have to report to work this morning. So, I didn’t. Instead, I went to the Indianapolis Museum of Art in order to escape my head for a bit. I arrived around 9:30 AM, but discovered the museum doesn’t open until 11:00 AM. So, I parked in the parking garage and leaned the driver seat back, set an alarm and slept for an hour and a half. When the alarm went off, I got up and tooled around the museum until 1:45 PM.
At 2:00 PM, Jon treated me to lunch at Los Rancheros, a mexican restaurant we frequent almost weekly. We talked for a while, and I cried. Our lunch was short because I had to report to work at 3:00 PM. Jon and I will visit longer on Day 2.
I had a 90-Day Evaluation meeting at 5:30 PM where I was told that I need to get the number of images I tone in an hour up, but the quality of the images I am toning is OK. After the meeting, I finished my work day as normal. I took lunch at 7:30 PM, but I didn’t eat anything. Instead, I walked out to the car, prayed, drank water and watched a couple episodes of Command N on my phone.
At the end of my shift, I sent a text message to Nate to let him know that I was on my way to his place per his request. When I arrived, he helped me carry the things I packed into his place, and we cleaned his spare room in order to make room for a bed. We talked briefly, and I thanked him for letting me stay here for a while. Before going to bed, I watched a little bit of the Olympics, and Nate and I laughed about some strange phrases found at Engrish.com.
The last communication I’ve had with my family at this point is from Mel, who asked if I could warm up a lunch for her, but I was no longer at home when I received the message.
Now…off to bed for the night.
