The return of the Hour

OMG I'm posting from school! I got a laptop for Christmas and have been bringing it into school on some days. I really don't like having it here. Like, really. My notes are scattered between notebooks and the computer, and I'm checking out facebook profiles during class. But on the other hand, I am able to go to private areas of the library instead of being tied to the public computers, and I can get more work done here instead of waiting til I get home.

Four days into this steroid medication (which is just prednisone, even though I am making it out to sound like I'm wandering around with 'roid rage and ripping off t-shirts and everything) I feel a gazillion times better. I can sleep without coughing myself awake every five minutes! And I feel much more energetic. So much so, that I demanded (unsuccessfully) that T submit to an arm wrestling competition on our floor last night. He refused, saying he was scared he'd lose. Ha!

We went on a date this weekend, where we recommitted to the whole spending an hour a day together thing that we were doing a while back. Even though T laughed at us for continually turning to the same bag of tricks, I love this concept. Despite eating dinner together most nights and watching Hulu or Netflix movies regularly, we really don't automatically get in the quality time for connecting that was a regular part of life pre-law school.

The rules of the Hour are as follows:
1. We take turns picking what to do.
2. No complaining about what the other wants to do.
3. Television, movies and chores don't count as part of the Hour.

It sounds kind of silly that most of our hours have been spent playing Boggle or, in the case of last night, Chess. But when I am sitting there with T, and we're finished playing but still have time to spend together, and we start actually talking... I learn things about him that I didn't know. Maybe he mentions something that has been bothering him. I start to feel things I might not have felt. Maybe he says something to make me laugh. Suddenly we are closer. Then next thing you know, it's the middle of the afternoon, and I'm at school thinking about how I can't wait to see T again and wondering what we're going to get into tonight.

The trick is to keep it going, amidst the reading and the happy hours and the guys' nights and overtime and general fussiness of everyday life. Well, in any case, I'm happy for the return of the Hour.