Summer is a bittersweet time for us.  In the beginning of our relationship, we spent 8 months driving back and forth between Syracuse and Alexandria before Alix moved down in September of 2013. 6 months after living in the same general area we moved into our first apartment together in Old Town.  Obviously there are learning curves and adjustments when you finally live together, but one difficulty we didn’t consider is when summers would again pull us apart.

Alix is a teacher. Since I’m writing this I can say it, Alix is a REALLY GOOD teacher. One advantage to the teaching profession is having summers off, and so to appropriately capitalize on the time off she heads to Upstate New York. During this period I have the opportunity to catch up on several things, but at the same time I have the chance to both miss Alix and to realize how many little things of which she is the driving force.

In short, here’s a list of things that have happened over the past month:

1. I forget to make coffee. There is nothing worse than waking up and realizing there is no coffee in the pot. Though I’m the one who always makes it, I always get a reminder the night before to fill up the water.

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2. No more getting to work 20 minutes early. Thanks in part to Alix’s school schedule I’m always out the door earlier than I need to be, and over the last month this has proven difficult.

3. Looks like it’s either a sub or chicken for dinner. Some people out there probably think we only go out to eat or have guacamole, but the truth is Alix is a pretty good cook. She’s even been experimenting lately as though she’s on the show Chopped and creating dishes with whatever is in the cupboard. I tend to keep it very simple if I’m only cooking for one.

4. Cookies are always in the cookie jar. If one of us has a sweet tooth it’s definitely me, and because of that I’ve enjoyed buying extra desserts without any guilt.

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5. The treadmill has taken the place of walking Ivan every morning.  I enjoy the early morning routine and have kept at it for when the old guy returns in a week.

6. Champagne corks stay put. We LOVE a good bottle of bubbly especially when it’s warm outside, but it remains one thing I don’t indulge in alone. On the upside there will be more come August!

7. Alix likes good movies, but I like all movies, which means it’s Superhero and cheesy comedy hour in her absence.

8. I will absolutely shrink an article of clothing. I’m 6’5, which means the only thing more difficult than shopping is making sure my clothes don’t shrink. Since Alix has been doing our laundry for the last year I’m confident that at some point I’ll pull a shirt out of the dryer that looks better suited for my 10 year old self.

9. The jokes in the morning are missed. Alix might say she’s not a morning person, but after about 3 minutes she turns into a comedian and usually gets a couple laughs from me in the morning.

Cookies and movies aside I’ll be glad when my partner in crime has returned to Virginia. Sometimes when you live with someone you forget all the little things, but Alix’s summer departures have certainly helped to shed light on the things I may take for granted.

When your significant other is away, even for a short period, what do you notice or miss the most?