My Navigator

My beautiful wife is amazing. How much trust she’s granted me with our decision I will never fully comprehend. I will need to be the money-maker in Belgium and with that comes much responsibility.

She’s dreading the inclement weather but on the flip side looking forward to parts of it. A white Christmas, making snow angels, ice-skating outdoors on real ice and not the fake plastic stuff they have in the malls here at Christmas. She’s given up and sold so much of her personal belongings and done far more than I’ve managed to in packing up the house for the journey.

Where I’ve lost hope, she holds firm telling me that we can’t simply give everything away. We have to try and turn as much of it into cash as we can.

She’s my voice of reason, the navigator who plots a sensible path. I’m the blithering idiot who wants to sail off in a straight line and maroon our ship on the first sandbank or tear it apart on the reefs that lie in wait in the waters instead of going patiently around them.

I’m often neglectful and don’t see that she needs my help and she ends up sacrificing things that are important to her, sometimes she sacrifices her very well-being that beautiful, lovely lady truly does love us and shows it so often!

We don’t hold hands enough. We don’t talk enough and that’s my fault. I’ve come to realize in this late hour of life that I’m terrible at the verbal thing. I don’t explain things properly and use poor language or my psychic ability to communicate. Of course I don’t have any psychic ability which is a little problem that manages to make huge problems later. I also tend to be a “yes” man to please people or uphold some perceived image they may have of me. I should really, really stop that and take the more “it is what it is” stance.

In essence I’m a pushover when I shouldn’t be and a stubborn mule when it’s not appropriate.

It struck me quite suddenly, this masterful blow, the kung-fu death point blow that could’ve crippled my ability to earn a decent wage in Belgium. I use the metric system in my work. What if they used imperial? I wouldn’t have a clue to begin with on the lengths, volumes and areas they would be referring to. I could get used to it but it would take much practice!

Upon some investigation I managed to parry the death blow and received only minor grazing. Belgium uses the Metric system. The grazing comes in with the notes I make on drawings. They would most likely be in Nederlands and knowing a little about what I do, I know they’d be pretty standard. My wife eased my mind here yet again pointing out that its jargon and once I have a handle on it, and understanding Nederlands the way I do, I’d be able to cope. She’s right again of course.

I wish I could do more for my lady.

She deserves far better than I’m able to give her.