Something very exciting happened last week: Husband took a full time job. And boy are things going to change around here. 

For one thing, we’ve grown used to his 24/7 presence in the apartment. Since leaving his last job, Husband set up shop as a professional photographer in the living room and he’s been spending an awful lot of time in there. So much so, that we built a make-shift wall dividing the living room. That was completed just days before he got the offer he couldn’t refuse.

A job. A good one.

But having Husband around here was pretty special. It meant I didn’t have to worry when I left the coffee pot on, that there was always someone home when Son returned from school –always a good thing for a teen. He was also available to pick up Daughter, make dinner, help with homework, change light bulbs, fix computers, and much, much more.

And his cooking: Husband has a way in the kitchen. And it’s completely improvised and delicious: Risotto, Curried Chicken, steak, pasta sauce with ground turkey, capers and many mystery ingredients, the best scrambled eggs, french toast with Tabasco Sauce….

And that’s just the utilitarian stuff. Having him in the same borough day in and day out was pretty special. We really got to know one another again and in a different way. We didn’t exactly work together but we did partner up on a few projects and supported each other.

And I got to see the intensity with which he approaches his photographic work. The perfectionistic printing technique, the daily photo walks, the complete immersion in his art.

So, it is with some trepidation that we send Husband into Manhattan. He has a tendency toward workaholic-ism. During the era of his last job, he was known to stay at the office until four in the morning.

It was just him and the cleaning staff sometimes. And we missed him back at the ranch. We really, really did.

Getting laid off, outsourced, axed — whatever you want to call it — was probably one of the best things that ever happened. It meant a severance that supported his efforts to reclaim his photography and establish himself professionally. It was a win-win situation, a gift to us all — we got more time with him, he got more time with us, and he spent a lot of time developing his art.

And then he got an e-mail from his old boss. Like Mr. Incredible in The Incredibles he was lured out of "retirement" from the computer biz. We never thought he’d go back in. But as the Al Pacino character in The Godfather 3 says, "They just keep pulling me back."

But Husband’s reasons are good. He’s doing something he really enjoys. Health Insurance. Benefits. A reliable salary. Money for Son’s college.

It should be fun to try the stable life for a while. Yes, OTBKB is losing her staff photographer (though No Works_Daily Pix by Hugh Crawford will continue as before), and she’s losing her sometime lunch mate at the local sushi shop. Hopefully, Husband will be home in time to make those great dinners he makes. And his homework help is much appreciated.

This time around, we’re hoping that he can set some boundaries. That he can get home at a decent hour and clock some time in as Dad. It’s as important a job as any and one whose time clock is running just about all the time.

Congratulations Husband.