Opposites Attract (or My Wife the Saint)

Actually it should probably be more like "opposites attract and then get stuck together and then stay together even though they are opposites."

I am referring - very much tongue in cheek - to me and my wife. Just a few examples of how we are opposite:

• wife - work, me - not working.
• wife - spends money on others, me - spends money on me.
• wife - puts clothes away after wearing them, me - puts clothes on floor after wearing them.
• wife - knows what clothes can be dried in the dryer, me - no clue.
• wife - drinks wine, me - can't handle my liquor.
• wife - finds sophomoric humor tiresome, me - finds sophomoric humor every chance I get (and freely teaches it to our children which my wife then has to "unteach" so they don't offend the grandparents, neighbors or teachers.)
• wife - petite, me - big.
• wife - female, me - less female.

Another example of our "oppositeness" is what we perceive as "great opportunities" especially as they pertain to islands.

As you know, I recently spent time on the Pacific paradise of the Big Island of Hawaii. It was to pursue an "opportunity" I just couldn't pass up. That opportunity was, of course, to race a half Ironman distance triathlon on the Big Island and meet a bunch of people who I only knew through Facebook, Twitter and blogs. As you also know, I had a great time. Stayed in an awesome condo overlooking the ocean, ate awesome food and just really enjoyed myself and my new friends.

My wife was talking with our across-the-street neighbor a couple of months ago and she came home with an "opportunity" she felt she just couldn't pass up. It too was on an island, in the Caribbean. She'd be gone for a week without me or the kids (not unlike I was in Hawaii.) She would be meeting new "friends" as well, but she had no idea who they were. Not so "opposite-y," right?

Here is where things get "opposite-y." She would be living in a tent (I don't think we have ever stayed in a one star hotel,) eating one meal a day of rice and beans (not one of our staple meals) and her new "friends" would be sick and injured and living in a disaster area. My "opportunity" was about me and my personal interest. Her "opportunity" was to make a difference.

Tomorrow at 7:25 AM she flies off to Miami on her way to Port au Prince, Haiti. She will be living in the Jenkins - Penn tent city. Taking a shower. Eating beans and rice and anything else she brought with her. Her days will be long, hot, humid days helping the poor people still trying to recover from the January 12th earthquake. She's not really sure what she will be doing day-to-day. She may be birthing babies, suturing, assisting docs, helping organize, helping amputees or trauma victims with daily tasks by using adaptive equipment (she's an Occupational Therapist, so this is her field of expertise.)

To prepare for her trip she got her shots and has been taking her anti-malarial medicine.

She's been packing.


And packing.


She got a water filter bottle.


and just in case.


Her bedtime reading subject matter has changed somewhat from Jane Austen to this:


The cover just makes me queasy. Several times she would start laughing at something she was reading. I'd ask her what was so funny and she'd reply, "Oh, if I showed you, you'd get all squirmy and weird." Thank you for extending me that courtesy anyway.

I am excited and nervous for her and know she is excited and nervous about going - as evidenced by her inability to sleep and need to repack at 2 in the morning. I know she is going to do just fine and will gain a ton from the experience. I am just hoping that by being married to her I will get to ride her coattails into heaven.