The 30-day challenge

Oh, my voice. It's almost completely gone. (Ouch).

Just like hubby. Completely gone. (Ouch). I'm just learning the ropes of being a firefighter's wife. So far, I have a sort of love-hate relationship with the gig. On one hand, I love it. I remember the day hubby and I and the kids were driving home from church one day. We turned the corner and saw an accident that had just happened. The woman was sitting in her car, hysterically crying.

I watched as he walked over there and said to her "It's OK. I'm a firefighter. I'm here to help." Those words quieted the screams. Those two words, Fire Fighter, and she felt safe. I almost cried that day, watching him. I thought, "So, this is what being married to a firefighter is like."

That was the honeymoon phase, though. Now that we're getting into the everyday routine of it all, the job is what takes him away from me for 24 hours straight. Now, when I don't see him for 24 hours straight and then he calls to tell me that he has mandatory overtime, I think "So, this is what it's like to be a firefighter's wife." I hate when he leaves. But, when he leaves for a full day, I miss him like crazy. Right now, I miss him like crazy.

The other day, I drove him to work and the kids to school. We had the heat on full blast in the mom van. As we were leaving our driveway, I could feel the crunch of the ice beneath the tires. I kept saying, "Look! Ice!" Finally, after like the fourth time, I gave up. "Am I the only one in this car who is amazed by the ice?"

The kids actually said yes. They had been hoping for a Florida snow day, so the ice was rather unimpressive. After we dropped off the multiple kids at their multiple locations, we had about 10 minutes. I love and hate those 10 minutes because it's like the countdown until he's gone. I hate that part, but I love being able to sit with him in a quiet car -- no crying children.

"I have a challenge for you," he said as we drove. "A 30-day challenge."

Now he knows that I love a challenge. It's who I am. But, I was a little hesitant. Was this going to be some kind of cooking or cleaning challenge? "Are you game?" he asked.

"It depends." Of course, it depends.

He paused, as if bracing himself for the moment. And then he unveiled the amazing 30-day challenge that I would not be able to turn down. In fact, this is so what I have needed in my life. It feels good to have a man who can challenge me the way he does.

OK, if you didn't catch it, that was a teensy bit of sarcasm. You know, the kind smothered in love.

"So, tell me, what's the challenge?" I ask him as we are pulling up to the firehouse -- the final destination.

"It's a 30-day s*x challenge." (My face: blank stare.)

(Sidenote: I never spell out certain words, and that's to keep certain traffic away. You understand.)

"What?"

"Apparently -- and I saw this on the news -- having s*x once is like jogging seven miles. So, I thought, imagine if we had s*x every day for 30 days? It would be like jogging 210 miles! Isn't that awesome?"

Again. Blank stare.

Wow. I mean, I don't even know what to say about that one. By the time I made it to work, I realized that I never even answered his question -- just told him to have a great day, while laughing. "You're so silly," I said. "Have a good day. Text me later."

Again, wow. And now that I can barely speak and the kids are asking me a bazillion questions, I have to sign off. I'll be back Wednesday. I have lots of Mixed and Happy stuff to discuss Wednesday, so I hope you'll swing by.