I came up with a great idea yesterday, at least I thought so. I want to sit down with Tom (probably today as we drive to Boston) and make a list of the various things we would love the other to do. Then we could start a procedure that when we both have time one could ask the other, “I’ll exchange you banana bread for putting up the fan in the kitchen!”

Being home all week, as really helped me appreciate all Tom does for me. It has given me a look back into singlehood and helped me realize I much prefer marriage. I missed not having someone home in the evenings to enjoy dinner with, and then to have a reason to relax. This week even after working long days, I would often think, well I’ve been working for eight hours, I could probably relax and do something fun now, but what?  The things I was doing all day were fun, I love working in my garden, making small improvements on the house, singing, etc. So I would just keep working, or I would sit listlessly at the computer and waste the evening away checking blogs, catching up with friends on facebook, and researching the proper care for various plants.

I also realized I have much less ambition to cook when Tom isn’t here. Of course it didn’t help that I decided to go on a grocery shopping fast. I thought “If I don’t go grocery shopping, I’ll save $50.00, and there’s plenty of food in the house.” So I went for it. I pulled out the dried milk and everything. It was a success, and I probably lost a pound.  It did mean I ate Macaroni and Cheese twice, but I added squash the first time and peppers the second.

I also missed, as obvious from my great “new idea” is Tom’s as my help meet. Yesterday as I disassembled a drawer and made it into a shelve with a hinge front, I realized how much I needed a second pair of helping hands, and perhaps a second brain to think things through. Who knew how difficult it would be to hold up the wood front in such a way that the hinges laid where they needed to go, while inserting the screw and screwing it in. I finally finangled some string to at least prevent it from dropping, and that did the trick. I was thrilled with my completion of the task, mainly because it had been one of those I had sort of hoped Tom might do one day. It wasn’t too bad, I actually quite enjoyed the bit of carpentry involved. So my thought was, what other  projects that have long been left unattended because they are on my unannounced honey do list can I do? (Let me insert, this is not because Tom isn’t a great helper, rather because he is working on a much larger and more important project: a PhD.) I’ll do my best to scratch off as many as I can myself, but when it comes down to those last few, Honey can I make you bread?