Mr. & Mrs. Petersen are going to Washington

Last Tuesday Ben announced to me that one of his professors had pulled him into his office to talk to him. He seemed a little nervous, so I wondered what had happened, until Ben told me that he had been offered a video production internship for winter semester in Washington D.C. with the Department of Homeland Security. He was nervous to tell me, wondering what I would think.

I guess what happened is the internship was offered to BYU and ended up in the Communications department. Once there, three of Ben's professors talked to decide which student was best qualified. Since Ben is a film minor (and broadcast journalism major) with film editing experience they decided he would be the best candidate. I think my husband is very talented, but when someone else thinks the same thing, it's gratifying. :)

Anyway, when he told me, I was all for it. We're going to Washington!! What an adventure! Ben will be participating with the BYU Washington Seminar, so we'll be living in the Barlow Center in Foggy Bottom.

We're super excited, mostly because Washington is such a fun city and Ben will have the opportunity to build his resume. Although his internship is paid, I've already applied to do agency nursing in DC. That means that if hospitals are short nurses they hire from a temporary pool of nurses. I'm hoping to get a chance to work at Georgetown, but we'll see.

Our living arrangements will be a little interesting, but worth it. All the married rooms in the building are already full, so we'll be in a room with two single beds we'll push together. We'll have our own bathroom fridge, but we'll share a kitchen with two single people. Kind of funny. It's all part of the adventure, right?

So we leave January 7th and will be back sometime toward the end of April. We can't take a car, so we'll just be packing two suitcases around. It'll be like the mission all over again, except for the parasites. Did I already say we're so excited?

Marriage Lesson #25: Men give great gifts, if they get enough hints :)

Ben and I recently went to the grocery store. As we finished checking out, I noticed there were beautiful potted flowers near the door. We neared the display, and the dialogue went something like this..
Me: Wow these flowers are so pretty!
Ben (picking up a nearby newspaper and beginning to read): Uh huh
Me: Oh my gosh Ben, look, orchids!
Ben (mumbling, engrossed in the paper): Uh huh
Me: They're so pretty. I've always really wanted an orchid.
Ben (deeper engrossed in the paper): Uh huh
Me (grabbing Ben's arm and making sure I have eye contact): I've always really wanted an orchid Ben.
Ben (now making eye contact like a child being disciplined): Ok.

After a few weeks, I thought Ben had forgotten the whole thing. Probably because the last and only time he has gotten me flowers is the day he proposed to me, and those came with a card that said, "Please accept our deepest sympathies". Needless to say, my expectations weren't high.

Then one night I had an awful night at work. I did a 12 hour shift from 5pm to 5am and came home exhausted. As I walked in the door, this is what I found.Ben had bought me an orchid as well as placed his computer open on the counter with a note telling me to push play. A sappy love song came on and I began to cry. It was more than I could have ever expected at 5am. It was spontaneous. It was kind. It was wonderful.

Ben outdid himself. He surprised me with flowers, a love song and a warm bed to crawl into after a long night at work. And all I had to do was hint at the grocery store. It makes me think, what else could I hint about?