Yesterday I said that so far the "I can't believe I get paid to do this" feeling was winning out. And it is. But the coolness factor of working in arctic Scandinavia is trumped a thousdand times over by missing yet another summer with Mac. Missing out on baseball games and summer concerts and Seinfeld reruns.

I haven't announced the news yet in blogland, but we are engaged to be married sometime early next summer before starting our Peace Corps assignement. We couldn't be more excited. It's a wonderful place to be in our relationship, but it has made being here hard. I'm not as fully engaged with the people here as I might otherwise be. Which is fine, but it is strange to be going through the motions of living life here while spending all my time imagining life elsewhere, with Mac.

Two years ago in Toolik, Alaska I remember talking to a young woman who was spending a month at the field camp. She had recently been married and I asked her if it wasn't hard to spend so much time apart from her husband. I was really struck by her answer. She said yes, of course it was hard, but she thought of it more as an opportunity to bring something new to their relationship, and as a way to keep things fresh for both of them by continuing to experience new things.

I thought she had a great perspective, and that's what I've been trying to remind myself of this summer. But I think when it comes down to it I'd rather do my experiencing with Mac by my side. My days of seeking out field jobs in the most exotic and remote locations possible have come to an end.

The project goes to Greenland next year, and if given the opportunity to go, I'd have to say, "no." My regret at saying so would come with no more regret than that of an adult who has come to realize, if somewhat sadly, that sleeping late Saturday morning is more rewarding than the 6:00 AM showing of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.