“I got a text on Sunday afternoon.”
Five days ago. Even though he might not have cell coverage in the mountains of Central Oregon, I found it worrisome that Oscar hadn’t made some kind of attempt (smoke signal, flying pigeon, SOMEthing) to communicate with his wife, my sister-in-law, Susan. Could ten days of elk hunting be that absorbing? Actually, we weren’t even positive that it would be only ten days.
“When will be you home?” Susan had asked before they left.
“Oh, when we’re done.”
Oscar and his teenage son, Cooper, had been obsessively plotting their father/son adventure for weeks. A lot of time, money, and dreams had been invested. Susan had supported the whole enterprise, even though it’s the last thing in the world she would do herself. Lucky for her (or rather, for Oscar), Susan’s profession has given her a lot of relationship expertise; she often teaches about gender differences in her corporate/professional training.
But as she and I hung in suspense that night over the phone, debating whether to call out the canines, I wondered if her womanly heart would override her intellectual reasoning; I knew mine would.
Suddenly – just as I was looking on-line for the Park Service phone number -- she gasped:
“Mona! You’re not going to believe it! I just got a text: ‘The hunters return!’ And there’s the car pulling into the driveway!”
She hung up before I could give her a last piece of advice: Don’t yell at him!
Turns out, she didn’t need it.
At dinner the next night, my honey and I were happily regaled with the outdoorsman’s exploits; while Susan beamed. Susan beamed, and I marveled. How did she do it? How many wives would let their husbands disappear into the wilderness like that, respecting his masculine desires, sympathizing with his motives, trusting his abilities to stay safe, believing in his promises to return home, and not undermine the whole thing because she was out of her comfort zone while he was out of pocket?
I’m thinking not too many.
Susan had chosen in this instance, to react like an A+ Wife all the way: she Appreciated, she Approved, she Admired, she Accommodated Accomplishment, she Accepted, and she showed Allegiance (loyalty). And the plus? She meant it: Authenticity.
With that kind of best friend at home, how could a nice guy return with anything less than a big smile, a big kiss and a big, smelly elk?
“How many did you bag?” my husband asked Oscar after hearing about near-zero temperatures and getting lost in the snow-covered forest.
“Two – “ Oscar answered simply – “elk burgers. They make great ones at a little café at the foot of the mountain.”
I looked at Susan.
She was still beaming.
Mona shares and teaches romance at Mona's Musings with a Hint of Romance and posts daily at Mona's Musings on Facebook. and is the award-winning author or With Mine Own Hand: The Musical Account of Nephi. Based on her experience and study of two fathers, one husband, three sons, two grandboys, and seven brothers, she is writing a book about UNDERSTANDING MEN (go figure). Women say her live presentations on the subject are like going to Zumba class (though she's not sure what that means). Her Relief Society version is world famous (well, Canada is on the schedule).
See Mona's Musings for into. Photos from petalpower on Fliker (top) and Dreamstime.com
See Mona's Musings for into. Photos from petalpower on Fliker (top) and Dreamstime.com
