Something I'm looking forward to!

Josh is leaving again for Seattle soon.  A big downfall to my job now is that I no longer get to go with him for weeks at a time (I know, a good job is not a real problem.  So thankful I had the opportunity for uninhibited travel twice earlier this year!).  To make a long story short, I have been sad about Josh leaving for several weeks on the west coast.  He departs on my birthday and will be gone for three weeks.  I realize that this is a short time compared to military deployments and I am very respectful of those who serve our country (and the families left behind), however it is still hard for me when he leaves for these trips.

A few days ago Josh knocked my socks off with a surprise.  It was an after-work early-evening Wednesday.  We had plans to head out together for a couple of errands before our monthly evening Church service.  (Actually it marked a dozen days before my birthday.....so I could sing "the 12th day before my birthday, my true love gave to me....." but that is actually irrelevant, plus I don't sing well!).  :)

Josh told me to stay there (I was sitting on the couch for the couple of minutes before we would have to be gone the rest of the night) and he said he had to tell me something.  I told him that made me nervous, so he replied that was going to give me my birthday present early.  For starters, Josh and I are not really gift givers for each other - we would much rather decide something fun to do together.  Bless his heart, he has learned my not-so-sweet natural reactions so well that he prefaced the gift by telling me not to get upset about logistics because everything is worked out; I promised I understood, although I wasn't too sure.  He reached into his backpack then pulled out a card and gave it to me.

I opened the sweet card and a piece of paper inside caught my eye.  The paper was a printed confirmation for two tickets to go whale-watching in the San Juan Islands (Bellingham, WA) for the last weekend in September.  Hmmmm....that's funny because that's exactly the excursion I wanted to do when we were in Seattle in the Spring, however their tour season had not yet opened.  Only one problem....now I am back in South Carolina and working a job!  I was a bit puzzled about this until I turned to the other side of the paper for a flight itinerary showing my name and round trip tickets to Seattle for the weekend.  He even arranged with my supervisor (whom he's never met) for the short time off of work that I will need to take.  Yes it's going to be a super short time to make a coast-to-coast trip.....BUT WE ARE BOTH SO EXCITED!!!

We know that me being there over part of his trip will make things so much easier for us the following two weeks that he's still in Seattle.  Plus.....WHALE WATCHING WITH MY HUSBAND....definitely on my bucket list!

I am so thankful for my sweet and thoughtful husband.  He is such a blessing to me every day and shows love to me like none other.  I could brag on him all the time, however I usually keep many of his sweet acts between us.  I just couldn't keep this story to myself because two weeks from today I will be with my sweet husband in the Pacific Northwest trying to catch sight of whales and other wildlife.  WOO HOO! :)

If you have been whale watching, please share any tips or advice because I want to make the most of this excursion!  It's an all-day trip to the islands.  There will be a snack bar available plus one meal is included.  I plan to take a backpack with some snacks as well as jackets, umbrella, camera, and other essentials because I want to be prepared no matter the weather.  Since I learned of this surprise on Wednesday, not a single minute has passed that I haven't thought of whales.  SUPER EXCITED!  27 isn't an age I'm too thrilled about, however whale-watching is exciting me something fierce, so at least I get to start off my new age with a bang.