Welcome to August

Here we are in the beginning of August, both here and at home. I still have 7 days and 21 hours until I take off on a plane for home. And yes, I am counting down the hours at this point. A lot of time spent here has been nothing but boredom and more boredom. A few moments here and there that would get me rushing around to fix things, but generally boredom. That isn’t helping me to appreciate Korea, and as much as I’d like to appreciate it, I just can’t. Between the work schedule being the better part of 35 days straight, with 2 or 3 days mixed in going out with coworkers, it just feels like nothing but boring, wasted time while I wait for things needing my attention. And those 2 or 3 days didn’t feel like off days since I wasn’t able to relax at all.

I’ve had plenty of time to think about things I’d like to do while at home. Lots of time with the family… pretty much all of the time with the family. But I also want to cook a lot of different things for Brooke to enjoy. I say that because the things I’m thinking of cooking may or may not be enjoyed by the girls. I hope they like them, but I don’t fully expect they will. A nice chicken marsala, a more simple chicken and mushrooms recipe, a chicken and braised olives maybe. I want to make regular every day steak with nothing but salt and pepper, but I also want to make a nice red wine reduction to go along with another. Chicken Kiev, a filet with a bordelaise sauce, stuffed pork loin and a porchetta… I just want to cook already. Stuffed bell peppers, and even a simple stir fry with nothing but veggies in it.

You don’t realize a lot of things you miss until you miss them. I know that I miss my family, because I’ve been dealing with that for a long long time now, but I never realized how much I’d miss cooking. With the per diem here, I can eat anything I want, anywhere, and not have to worry about cost, but I don’t want to. Between the language, both in person and on the menu, and the food all being too sweet, spicy, tangy or savory, it just doesn’t taste right. And the things that aren’t those things, the language barrier causes some issues for me getting them or finding them.

Most of all, I look forward to snuggling up next to Brooke and going to sleep with my arms wrapped around her at night. I look forward to Char sneaking into bed in the middle of the night, or Syd waking us up. And I look forward to making some special little addons to the things above. Little things that will make the meal stand out for Brooke and show her that I appreciate her. A couple of meals that I removed from the list and a couple of breakfasts I want to make for her. I know I won’t be able to get to them all, but I will definitely try.

I love you all so very much, Papa