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Guy's Weekend

When Nathan and I first met (over 9 years ago!) his main vehicle was his beloved Toyota pick-up. He had begun transforming it into a true 4-wheeling rig, something that I knew nothing about at the time. All I know is that for some reason, my new boyfriend got a thrill out of driving over big rocks and through rivers and mud. In fact, our first couple of dates included just that. I pretended to enjoy it, but truth be told, I inwardly questioned the point of this...uh...sport? Activity? Hobby? Whatever one might call it, I just didn't see the fun. However, like all girls usually do at some point in their lives (especially when we are young and impressionable), I faked interest so he would like me.

Pause for a moment-That actually looks dumber when I type it out than when I just think it silently in my head. Sometimes I just shake my head at my moronic teenage self. Faking interest for a boy? Honestly.

But I digress. So that first summer we met, Nathan and I spent a fair amount of time rock crawling (a term that is interchangeable with 4-wheeling, I learned.) And over the next few years much of his time and money were spent on his rig (aka his truck). But then we bought a house and got married. And with a wife and a mortgage comes a scary little word called responsibility. Nathan began doing more sidework, which required him to purchase a more practical truck for hauling around tools and equipment, something his little Toyota just couldn't handle anymore. He purchased a F-550, complete with a large crew cab that could comfortable fit myself and a few carseats, which inevitably came along a few years later. Six years after the purchase of our home, I can count on one hand the number of times my husband has been 4-wheeling. I've even (gasp!) encouraged him to sell his seldom-used rig, but he hasn't been able to let go of the dream that he'll get back out on the trail one day.

That day finally came. He, along with several other guys (including his older brother) just returned from a four day rock-crawling adventure up in Fordyce (don't ask me where that is...all I know is that it's several hours north of the Central Coast). To go, Nathan had to take time off from the department, stop work on a bathroom remodel for a client, stall progress on Benjamin's new room, and leave his pregnant wife and son, whom he hadn't seen much of recently due to all aforementioned tasks at hand. Needless to say, we both questioned if he should go at all.

But in the end, I'm glad he did. Every man needs some down time with the guys and given how hard he has worked this past year, it was definitely deserved. He rediscovered his love for this crazy sport-activity-hobby and came home antsy to rework his truck into something he could take his growing family in.

Which is exactly what I was afraid of.









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