Wife vs Historian
I guess I'm not as much of an historian as I thought. With Steve arriving tomorrow, I know full well I'm not going to get much research done. I miss him. I only have a week with him. I'm going to spend as much of it in his company as humanly possible. He's not big on historical research, so that means I'll be wherever he wants to be and not vice versa. But did I get any archival research done today? No. Why? Because I can't focus on anything other than the fact Steve's going to be here tomorrow. I am clearly more of a wife than an historian. And you know, I can live with that!
I woke up planning on going to the Lancashire Records Office (LRO) today. I originally planned to leave early, so I could secure a place before the old-age pensioners arrived en masse. Then Steve told me that he was going into work later than normal and that he'd try to Skype before he left. We hadn't had a chance to talk Monday night, so I thought that was a great idea. The LRO is open until 7:30 tonight, so I figured I'd talk to Steve in the morning and get over there later in the day, when the pensioners were heading home for tea. And even if it was crowded, I had plenty of microfiche reading to do to keep busy. For some reason, the microfiche readers aren't particularly popular.
As I waited for Steve to call, I took the time to organize all the notes I've accumulated. I transcribed most of them onto my computer, and neatened up the handwritten ones I am still using to find sources at the library and LRO. I also read a bit from one of my history books, and compiled even more sources to investigate. I re-engaged with some of the historical statistics I have and ordered the book from which I got them from amazon.com. I may not have done any archival research, but I had a productive morning and afternoon, all the same.
As the hours rolled by (a five-hour time difference can be a pain) and Steve hadn't contacted me, I worried. As it turns out, he had lost cell phone service. Since we connect to the internet via our Verizon phones, he couldn't get online. Nor could he text me, because he had no service. When I got worried enough, I texted his work phone and learned what had happened. Not sure why Steve didn't text me from his work phone to start with - he knows how I get. Anyway, I kept working from home, hoping he'd be able to call. When it got to be 3:30 here, I decided that I needed to get into Preston.
Naturally, Steve texts me whilst I'm on the bus heading into the city center to say that phone service was back and he was heading into Jacksonville. If I had waited just a few minutes more . . .
In Preston, I popped by the library long enough to return the "Lost" DVDs I had borrowed. I then bought some goodies for Steve (some McVitie's Ginger Nut cookies and some new Cadbury Twisted candy bars) at a store on Friargate. Then I came back. I had some cheese on toast for supper.
Steve said he's going to try and call from the airport. That'll be around 9 tonight, England time. I'm curling up with an interesting book about housing in Preston during the Industrial Revolution while I wait for his call.
So I guess that, even though I am a better wife than historian, I'm still an historian. :-)
I woke up planning on going to the Lancashire Records Office (LRO) today. I originally planned to leave early, so I could secure a place before the old-age pensioners arrived en masse. Then Steve told me that he was going into work later than normal and that he'd try to Skype before he left. We hadn't had a chance to talk Monday night, so I thought that was a great idea. The LRO is open until 7:30 tonight, so I figured I'd talk to Steve in the morning and get over there later in the day, when the pensioners were heading home for tea. And even if it was crowded, I had plenty of microfiche reading to do to keep busy. For some reason, the microfiche readers aren't particularly popular.
As I waited for Steve to call, I took the time to organize all the notes I've accumulated. I transcribed most of them onto my computer, and neatened up the handwritten ones I am still using to find sources at the library and LRO. I also read a bit from one of my history books, and compiled even more sources to investigate. I re-engaged with some of the historical statistics I have and ordered the book from which I got them from amazon.com. I may not have done any archival research, but I had a productive morning and afternoon, all the same.
As the hours rolled by (a five-hour time difference can be a pain) and Steve hadn't contacted me, I worried. As it turns out, he had lost cell phone service. Since we connect to the internet via our Verizon phones, he couldn't get online. Nor could he text me, because he had no service. When I got worried enough, I texted his work phone and learned what had happened. Not sure why Steve didn't text me from his work phone to start with - he knows how I get. Anyway, I kept working from home, hoping he'd be able to call. When it got to be 3:30 here, I decided that I needed to get into Preston.
Naturally, Steve texts me whilst I'm on the bus heading into the city center to say that phone service was back and he was heading into Jacksonville. If I had waited just a few minutes more . . .
In Preston, I popped by the library long enough to return the "Lost" DVDs I had borrowed. I then bought some goodies for Steve (some McVitie's Ginger Nut cookies and some new Cadbury Twisted candy bars) at a store on Friargate. Then I came back. I had some cheese on toast for supper.
Steve said he's going to try and call from the airport. That'll be around 9 tonight, England time. I'm curling up with an interesting book about housing in Preston during the Industrial Revolution while I wait for his call.
So I guess that, even though I am a better wife than historian, I'm still an historian. :-)
Enjoyed this, Deanne. The effort to balance is always a challenge. xoxo
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