But the core of our relationship goes far deeper than that. Our deepest core value, in fact, is one that Zack shares as well.
Here's our little text exchange last Friday night, as they were packing for their early morning flight to see me.
Later that same day:
Our long-distance relationship is a huge strain on both of us. Sometimes, I wonder if we'll make it. But any time I get discouraged, any time I wonder if we truly are meant to be, I only need ask myself The Really Important Question of Life and Love:
"Would anyone else put up with this crap?" ;)
Last night, the three of us had planned to watch A Shot in the Dark. You see, Paul had gotten me The Pink Panther boxed set on DVD for my birthday, and we had introduced Zack to the first film Monday night. For those who don't remember (or who have never seen the films) The Pink Panther is not a screamingly funny film for the most part; although it certainly has its laugh-out-loud moments, it's mostly exposition to set the scene for the movies that follow. So we were out to redeem ourselves with what is, in my opinion, the best film in the series.
However, at some point during dinner, the subject of Boggle had come up. I LOVE BOGGLE. I bought one when Amazon had their big buy-one-get-one-free game sale going on, but hadn't even opened it (nobody in his right mind will play Boggle with me). I was hoping Paul and Zack would share my love of this addictive word game.
"What's Boggle?" they asked.
They had never heard of it. I was flabbergasted. How could someone who lives in the twenty-first century have never heard of Boggle? I handed them the box.
Zack crinkled his nose. "It looks, well, lame." He's fourteen, by the way, so this response wasn't entirely unexpected. "No!" I countered, "It's really, really fun! It's like Bookworm, but without the books! Or the worm! Or the computer! OK, it's really nothing like Bookworm at all!"
Zack just stared at me.
I stopped trying to describe the game at that point and instead insisted we play a round. Just one round. If you guys hate it, we won't *sniffle* ever play again.
So we played, and we laughed. I didn't hold back, and trounced them both pretty badly. In retrospect, I probably should have cheated a little.
We played another round. And another. And another.
I think we played fourteen rounds altogether. Paul dropped out after the first seven. I wholeheartedly believe it was entirely because he wanted to keep on top of his work email and not at all because we were spanking him like a newborn babe.
I sorta spanked Zack, too, but he played really well, was a good sport, and genuinely enjoyed the game.
Thank God. Thank God for that.
As God is my witness, I will never go Boggleless again!
I had to stop after fourteen rounds. Zack and I were both a little overtired and lot giggley. So we did what every family does before heading to bed: We sang short odes to our newly-fabricated Nordic god of lost socks, THOCK. (We'd had a really bad round, and had resorted to making up words.) "Thock you like a hurricane," "Thock and roll all night," "Thock it to me baby (uh-huh, uh-huh!)" and "Thock, in the name of love" were a few of our favourite solemn hymns to this underappreciated deity.
OK, break's over; back to work I go.
Hope everybody's having a fantabulous day :)
Thock be with you. (And also with you.)
Oh, and jftr, I'd love a gmail invite, if anyone ever happens to have an extra lying about.
