The Last Friday

I've tried not to write very much about this but if you're a person who talks to me on a fairly regular basis then you've heard what I'm about to write.

For the last six months Branden has worked the 3PM to midnight shift. Since I work mostly morning shifts this has limited the amount of time we have been able to spend together. Since I'm usually off work on Sunday, I've been able to stay up late Saturday nights to see him after he gets off work. I've been able to see him for a few hours on Sunday before he leaves for work. If I was closing on Tuesday- I usually do- then I could stay awake and see him for about half an hour Monday night and would stay up again Tuesday night since I was off work on Wednesday. He was also off work on Wednesday so I'd see him all day and again after I got off work on Thursday.

And then there was Friday, the worst day of the week. Almost every Friday morning for the last six months has found me fully dressed, ready to walk out the door, but sitting on the edge of the bed dragging out my good-bye to Branden... A good-bye he almost never remembers. If there's a morning that I'm going to steal a few extra kisses, it's Friday. If there's a morning that I'm going to hug his sleeping body longer, it's Friday. If there's a morning that I'm going to try to get a real response from him, it's Friday. And what's so different about Friday? It's the one day during the week that I know the only time I'll spend with Branden is the morning good-bye. I won't lie to you, I'm pathetic. More than once I have cried on my way to work on a Friday morning.

I am fully aware of the fact that there are women out there who have military husbands gone for many months at a time. My dad worked international business for much of my young childhood and he and my mom would go weeks without seeing each other and didn't even get to talk every day. I will tell you now, those other women are stronger than I am. I don't know how they do it but they deserve a giant hug for figuring it out. Branden is my best friend and, aside from coworkers, he's the only person I see on a regular basis... And I'm a pathetic, lonely mess without him.

But Fridays won't be bad days anymore! Branden's shift is changing at the beginning of next week. He'll work noon to 9 PM and his days off will be Friday and Sunday. We'll still get a day off together most of the time and I will see him EVERY NIGHT! This is the last Friday that I'll spend the entire evening alone. :)