Marathon (by Thomas)

Ok, so it's not really a marathon, but sometimes it feels like it. =) Things have remained basically the same since Rebecca left in the middle of May. We have a regular routine of communication involving IM, webcam, and cell phone. We usually talk casually on her way home, occasionally webcam after dinner, and talk in-depth later at night. Our contact is far less than it used to be, but I would estimate that we still get to communicate perhaps 2-3 hours per day. It's not something we're necessarily overjoyed about, but I'm pretty confident that our relationship will remain at least as strong as it is now until we see each other again.

It was a bit frustrating for a while to not be able to webcam. My laptop was dead and being repaired for several weeks, so until I got it back this weekend, I had not actually seen Rebecca since she left WA. Our phone conversations were very pleasant, but being able to see her again (even if only electronically) did my heart good.

We had an amusing contest last night via webcam. We were commiserating that neither of us felt like working out. Rebecca had the bright idea of doing situps together instead of our normal respective workouts, and proceeded to challenge me to a "crunch contest." We turned our webcams to where we could see each other on the floor and it was on! I was a bit nervous at first, but I ended up winning fairly convincingly (I thought). As you might expect, we gathered quite an audience! Most of her family congregated around during the contest, and were alternately watching me in the webcam and her on the floor. Everyone thought it was quite amusing. =)

Although tiring, it was very enjoyable to be able to exercise "with" Rebecca. The simple companionship and competitiveness of two best friends challenging each other really made us feel closer. I really hope that we can do more fun activities together as time goes on.

And so continues the marathon. ;-) We have about 43 days left until we see each other in person again. That seems like a long time (and it is in one sense!), but it's actually only about six weeks. It's been about 29 days since our last face-to-face contact...so while we're not at the halfway point yet, we're progressing towards it rapidly! I have full confidence that we will meet again with a stronger relationship than it's ever been before. Praise the Lord for the marvelous age of communcation in which we live!