How It All Began

"Do you want to play anymore?"

I remember my fiancé (now husband) asking that while we ate dinner in our over-priced, amenity-laden, money pit (apartment) in the ritzy part of town. It had been a few days since I logged in to play my WoW character, and he wanted me to mine ore for him to sell in the auction house.

"Not really," I responded...which was the first time I had honestly answered that question in a while. He had already come to that conclusion on his own when I had given him my login information and neglected to comment on the character changes he made.

That was a little over two years ago. Tonight, my husband is downstairs in the basement of our much more affordable house in the suburbs playing my character, as if she had always belonged to him. His own characters are well-equipped, but WoW has redesigned the game to make playing my lady more enjoyable.

The clock reads 9:12 pm. He said he MUST be in bed by 9 o'clock.

When we lived in the apartment, I would have stomped around the corner or yelled from bed...
"8:40!"
"8:50!"
"9!"
"Are you coming?"
"It's 9:10!"

Wow, I was really annoying back then. Now, I sit cozily in bed. I kissed him goodnight at 8:30, let the dog out, brought the dog back inside, petted the cat, sent the dog to his bed, and snuggled into the covers to write. I do not function well with less than seven hours of sleep. Many nights, I aim for 9 hours.

When we were in college, my gamer husband would tuck me into bed in my dorm room and walk to his room to continue playing with friends. In our apartment, I convinced him to cuddle with me until I fell asleep...then he would go play. Today, I recognize that he loves me. If I was really needy, I could convince him to come upstairs (for a minute or two).

Instead of complaining, though, I load up on affection that he is willing to provide early in the evening, like a peck on the lips if he is busy, a good (quick) kiss if he is waiting for a game to load, a hug if he waits for a friend to join his game, or a steamy 20 minutes when no one is online.

In his way, I am glad he is predictable...because I know I can get the attention I want or need if I am patient. (I wish I had learned patience years ago)

Now, I will just shout once "It's 9:30!"