Coffee Chat // July 14, 2014

{Partial evidence of my emotional eating bender this past week.}

1. This past week was probably the most stressful week I've ever experienced. I gave a more specific play-by-play over on Twitter as Mark and I Skyped each day, but to summarize it here: Mark left for Israel last Sunday, July 6th, for what was supposed to be a three-month work project. On July 8th, Israel launched Operation Protective Edge, a military response to deal with the increasing conflict between Gaza and Israel stemming from the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers back in June. I'd been aware of the kidnappings prior to Mark's departure, and—obviously—the ongoing tension between Israel and Palestine, but there was nothing that caused us to truly worry about Mark's trip. He'd spent 10 days there in May, and had a perfectly normal time—working, going to the beach, dining at restaurants, visiting Jerusalem. But this time, within 12 hours of his arrival, tensions were escalating rapidly and the country began dealing with frequent rocket launches, air warning sirens, and visits to the safety bunkers found in every building. Did I mention that Mark was living and working within eight miles of Gaza? On July 9th, his company relocated him and his team to a town a bit further northeast away from Gaza, and they were instructed to work out of their hotel and not go much farther than the restaurants next door. They also began to discuss evacuation plans, including a potential boat route through the Mediterranean Sea to Cyprus if there was an issue getting planes in our out of the country. After another tense morning on Thursday, his company decided to book flights for all the employees and by Friday morning Mark was flying home—he ended up spending less than five days there. The entire situation is so crazy and awful for both sides; even his Israeli coworkers said they hadn't seen it so bad in years (and the civilian casualties in Gaza are horrific). Mark said it felt incredibly surreal to go through, like he was living in a video game. I'm so so grateful to have him back safely now, but once the fighting and tension die down, he will likely be expected to return since the project is still going forward. I'm not such a fan of this prospect... We'll see what happens. Who knew the life of a structural engineer would be so hair-raising?

2. Despite the stress I experienced (and felt constantly in my shoulders and jaws), I held myself together remarkably well. I didn't even cry once! And I cry all the time—every point on my emotional spectrum is usually associated with tears of some kind. Happy tears. Frustrated tears. Scared tears. But when a situation is so far out of your control, I couldn't see anything else to do but stay calm and trust that everything would be okay for us. The very last thing I wanted to do was be an additional stressor for Mark by making him constantly worry about how I was feeling, so I did everything I could to keep myself calm. Of course I was concerned, and incredibly relieved to have Mark back home on Friday night, but getting worked up and freaking out would have only burdened him at a time I just wanted him to focus on getting himself and his team through it, and I think he really appreciated that. Honestly, I kind of surprised myself. As someone prone to anxiety, I've freaked out for far lesser concerns. This was a growth experience and I hope I can let the memory of this situation continue to give me perspective on what's worthy of my worries in the future. It also gave me a fair dose of perspective and empathy; if I was worried about my husband—who was being taken care of by his company, and who got to leave the country when things got ugly—I couldn't even imagine what it must be like to live in any place with a constant threat of violence, or to have a loved one in the armed forces, or to be a parent of a child injured in one of these attacks. Even though it was a challenge to go through, I came out of it feeling very fortunate.  

3. Does anyone have any recommendations for books set in Ireland? I'm in the mood to feel nostalgic about a place that we lived and loved right now. I'd prefer contemporary fiction to something classic like James Joyce or Oscar Wilde, but I'm open to any and all suggestions.

4. While Mark was gone last week, I kept coming up with reasons why life is just better when he is around. For example, without Mark at home, I didn't have his regular milk in the fridge so when I went to mix up macaroni and cheese with the noodles I'd already cooked, I discovered I only had my vanilla almond milk. *crying face emoji* FYI: Don't ever do that; it was just as horrible as you're probably imagining it would be. And if you're wondering why a fully grown adult lady would be eating boxed macaroni and cheese, just go away because mac and cheese is (usually) delicious and I was in need of serious comfort food, no shame.

5. I just bought this "Walk Write Wander Wonder" t-shirt by designer Christine Herrin from the Cotton Bureau, and I can't wait to get it. Cotton Bureau is a website where designers submit graphic t-shirt designs, which are then sent to print if they receive a certain number of pre-orders. This Walk Write Wander Wonder tee is already set to go to print, but I thought I'd share it here in case there are any other wanderlusty writers like me out there—it's just too perfect. As I mentioned in my Summer Capsule Wardrobe blog post, my current lounge wear is in definite need of replacement, so I'm excited to add this shirt into the mix. Related: I found this pin about how to style a graphic tee and thought it was quite helpful for those times I want to look a little more pulled together.