Barney has been away all week at a computer geek, I mean code genius conference in D.C., where all of the people like him can get together, hang out, swap secrets, and actually have other people understand what they’re talking about all the time. 
I love him dearly and am in constant awe of his coding prowess and overall intelligence, but I fear that when it comes to idle chitchat with him about the stuff he’s working on, I am the leader of the Smile And Nod Club. As much as his dorkishness makes me feel like the biggest moron on the planet, I can’t complain too much because tomorrow he’s bringing home a Wii for me to play with, that he won in a coding competition. Yes, you read it right. A coding competition. Code Monkeys slave away writing some code, they submit it, and whoever’s is the “most useful” wins. Don’t really understand that type of arbitrary judging, but hey, they chose him as the winner, and that means I get a Wii, so I’m inclined to agree with their judgement. That and he’s a coding master and was bound to win regardless…
While he’s been away, I’ve had so much free time in the evenings, I haven’t known what to do with myself. Well, other than finally catch up on all of the television shows I’ve had recorded for the past month, and surf the internet until 2 in the morning. I swear I have no self control or internal clock when he’s not here, rigidly sticking to his bedtime schedule. Also, me being the paranoid freak that I am, I don’t really want to turn the lights off and go to sleep when he’s not here beside me. I wander around the house listening for strange noises, locking and rechecking doors and windows, and I hate to admit it, even leave one of the lights on so that I can finally get to sleep each night. Luckily he returns tomorrow night, so my body wont have to suffer from lack of sleep for much longer. I’m not just looking forward to his return because of the Wii’s homecoming and the return of my mighty, nightly bedside protector of a husband, but also because I really miss him when he’s gone. We don’t spend enough time together as it is (yes, mostly my fault for packing a lifetime of activities into my 20’s) but we’re rarely so geographically separated, so when he’s across the country, the feeling is amplified. When he’s home, even if we’re doing our own things in the evenings, we still see each other for fleeting moments, and have the other next to us when we finally crawl into bed each night. There’s a comfort, security, bond, and love there that I often take for granted . . . . but not on nights like this when its absence is so palpable.
I’ve had enough me time.
Have a safe trip home sweet. We love and miss you.
