6/01/2005 06:49:00 PM|||Joel VandenBrink||| It was a dreary Tuesday morning in Seattle. The gray clouds were swirling over head and the sky was leaking. After hitting snooze a couple times I rolled out of bed, nearly missing Willis' nose that was peaking out from under the bed. He let out a big sigh and I replied with a "I know bud, but mommy comes home today." I hopped in the shower while Willis fell back asleep.
While eating my granola and sipping on coffee I prayed over the day and all that would occur. "God, I am your humble servant and as I re-enter the work field today may I do your work and not mine. May I love others, including their differences. And may I be happily re-united with Brooke tonight. Please guide her plane in your arms, put angels on every side keeping watch over her and her sojourners. Thank you God for creation. In the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit. Amen."
At that, I grabbed my motorcycle helmet, looked out the window, put my motorcycle helmet back, grabbed the car keys, and headed up to good ole Bothell to be a facilities manager. Work was, shall I say, less than eventful. I had to put some furniture together and catch up on email and phone messages. But on the exciting part, I got to tell people about my surfing and hiking trip and where we stayed, and who we met, and how bad I was at surfing.
3 p.m. came and I had to leave. I had errands to run and had to pick-up the house before I had to be at the airport at 7 to pick Brooke up. On the way back to the condo I stopped at Whole Foods to do the grocery shopping for the week. Amongst other things, I picked up raspberries, carrot juice, clif bars, peppers, apples, bananas, pluots, rainbow trout, soy milk, skim milk, bagels, double chocolate stout, spaghetti, white sauce and...a dozen roses. I drove home, unloaded the car and put the groceries away.
Next chore was to do the laundry. I had about two loads I needed to do, but I only had 7 quarters (one load is 4 quarters). I walked out to the car to see if there was a quarter in there, checked all my pants pockets, checked the sofa, checked everywhere a quarter could be. But there were only 7 quarters in our house. And even if I got the clothes washed, I would have to pay to dry them...so I gave up and left the clothes in a pile on the floor. By this point it was 5:30 and the time to leave was coming closer and closer. My errands, and tasks were done so I could either sit and wait patiently, try to work on homework, or watch the Simpsons. I chose the latter, and laughed my head off at Homer making a web page called 'Mr. X.' that brought me to 6, I still had an hour to kill. I was starting to get antsy. Nothing to do, no way to focus, and still an hour before I had to leave for the airport. So what did I decide to do for an hour? Surf the internet and read blogs. there really is no better way to kill time then to read random peoples blogs and comment on them.
Finally 7 came, Willis and I ran down the stairs and out to the car. I had one stop to make before I got to the airport. I had to stop and get Brooke's favorite snack -- Reese's peanut butter cups. I had grabbed one of the twelve roses from the vase before I had left and so on the passenger seat was one red rose and two Reese's peanut butter cups. Willis was in the back seat hanging his head out the window getting pelted with rain (he didn't seem to mind, so I chose not to care that the back seat was getting wet).
Finally the call came, "Hey honey where are you?" my bride asked innocently. "the question is, where are you?" I replied. "I'm just getting on the train to go up to baggage claim." She had landed, I couldn't believe it, Brooke was back in Seattle and only a couple miles away from me. I was so excited and tried to get willis excited with me, but he was to occupied with the rain (i think he was trying to figure out why he was getting wet, because he normally doesn't get wet when he hangs his head out the window). I pulled over on the airport road and waited for Brooke to call again letting me know that she was by the road and ready to be picked up. One minute passed, two minutes...eight minutes. Come on, come on baggage, I want to see Brooke I said to no one -- willis briefly looked at me and went back to the window. ten minutes, eleven minutes. I looked in my rear view mirror and saw red and blue flashing lights about 200 yards behind me. "Damn, I wonder if this is legal to be parked here? Oh well, I'll put it in drive and speed away." the cop got behind me for a little while, just enough to cause that stomach drop to occur, and then switched lanes. Just then the phone rang, "Hi, I'm standing right below the United Jet Blue sign." "Alright, I'll be there shortly."
I saw her before she saw me. I've always enjoyed looking at Brooke when she doesn't know I'm there, but this time was extra special. For I was looking at my bride, who I had only seen for 3 of the past 14 days. She looked so beautiful with her hair pulled back, curiously looking out into the road. I thought, 'she's waiting for me, she is waiting for her husband to pick her up, and man alive she's beautiful.' It wasn't long before she turned her head toward me, her face lit up and she waved, as to get my attention. I pulled over and she hopped in. "Hey pretty lady, wanna come home with me?" "I certainly do, let's go." And off we went, back to our condo. Back to the place the Brooke and Joel call home. Back to the place where many conversations are had. Back to the place that we wake up next to each other in the morning. But most importantly, we were going back to the place together.
I love you Brooke. Thank you for being my wife.
joel|||111767871602521761|||Sweet, sweet reunion...6/02/2005 12:12:25 PM|||Jon DeWaal|||Beautiful story Joel...I can see your gittiness as you bound down the steps with Willis off to the airport. I'm so glad that your both back safely in Seattle...blessings.