Dave got home today! We are happy to be together again. Two weeks felt like an eternity for both of us. How weird given that we were both looking forward to a mini-underway since we’re accustomed to spending so much time apart. We thought it would be refreshing in a way, but Dave really missed all we have here in Hawaii (warm water, beautiful sandy beaches, lush foliage, vibrant colors and lots of really genuine people). And Sammy and I missed having Daddy around for romping time. As you know by now, though, we did have lots of adventures while Dave was gone. Tonight we had a sell-out performance of the Sam-in-a-hamper-show, and did an encore performance of Sam-in-a-dryer while Dave repaired the hamper (the bottom fell out after so much use!).

Before picking Dave up at the airport, I went to our association management company to review 20 years of archived paperwork so that we could downsize our storage and save some money on our dues. We were storing lots of stuff that didn’t need to be retained. So I reviewed the document retention guidance and with the help of another homeowner, we identified 9 boxes of stuff to be shred and I consolidated the remaining 6 boxes into 4. This island is fast running out of space, so they were amenable to my “go green” policy about shredding, consolidation and economizing. I am doing my best to serve the association well as its new President. After this little project, I went to the airport to get Dave.

Dave’s return was fun. I greeted him at the gate thanks to a new regulation that allows active duty dependents to meet their spouses at the gate after getting a pass from the airline. They printed me a special boarding pass and I presented my ID to the TSA security people. No problems getting through. I really thought the actual implementation of this new regulation would be more spotty, but it was easy. Thanks to my friend Ang for sending me the scoop! I was labeled a “secondary female” (this is a new one for me – I am used to being a dependent, but secondary female?) and got to do the whole screening thing, check my purse, etc. Funny. I wasn’t even flying. Dave was surprised to see me…it was fun to inject a bit of suspense into an otherwise totally ordinary business trip. Dave also enjoyed seeing our friend Neil in San Diego a couple times during this trip. Neil is being sent to Afghanistan shortly on IA – meaning he is doing stuff that is totally unrelated to his usual job and this is an unexpected assignment for him. He’s taking it all very much in stride. I’d be completely undone by the prospect. Please keep him in your prayers.