Today was not unlike any other day when I’m off and Vonnie is home.  We make it a joint effort to awaken our children and coax them into getting dressed for school.  I love these days!  They gather around the heater in the living room and sleepily pull on clothes while Vonnie sits on the couch watching Fox News.  Then it’s brush hair, brush teeth (most of the time), eat breakfast and off to school for the both of them.  Today, Vonnie takes them and returns in less than about 5 minutes, no kidding, because we live right next door to the elementary school.  Man, I’m gonna miss that convenience when the kids move to junior high!

Now is mommy and daddy time.  I love this time on some mornings when Vonnie doesn’t have to be somewhere early and we can spend time together, just us.  This morning was one of those mornings.  Quiet, I thought.  Nice.   I’ll go to the gym,  run some errands, my mind was ticking off items on a “To-Do” list.

Now, here I must explain that Vonnie and I, at times, feel the need to test each other’s defense skills.  At any given moment, one of us gives the other “that look”- the one that’s playful and mischievous -and we “put up our dukes” and proceed to spar, hands only, which really means we swing at each other, seeing who can land more hits.   They are not really hits or slaps, more like taps.  We are usually laughing the whole time.

This morning, Vonnie was the challenger.   I rallied, of course, putting up my hands and readying myself.  Good practice for taekwondo, I thought.  (I’m always looking to improve that skill set) We began our banter of taps, Vonnie taking some hits, landing others.  He decided to throw in a kick.  I blocked it.    “Oh, we are kicking now?!”  My turn.  I waited for an opening and didn’t have to wait long.  He was too concerned with blocking his head, that his torso was left unprotected and I welcomed the opportunity to practice my twist kick.  Both of us bobbing and weaving, I moved toward his left side, turned my hip at what I thought was just the right angle and  BAM!  I hit him with my best attempt at a twist kick.

Vonnie: “Ow!”  I saw his eyes get a little bigger and he laughed.  I was pleasantly surprised I landed it so well.  “You are a gym rat and a taekwondo junkie.”    He said this to me , as I collapsed in a fit of laughter.   Then he grabbed me up, wrapped his arms around me in a big hug, as he always does after our sparring matches, and said I love you.

And all was right in the world.