The Longest Shortest Time

EPISODE #73: Love Yurts

When my friend Perry gets his mind set on something, he goes big. Like the time he went as scissors (in a rock-paper-scissors trio) for Halloween and he made blades for his legs that could really cut. His girlfriend Caitlin was the rock. She just stuffed some newspaper under her shirt.

Caitlin and Perry were college sweethearts. Years later, they eloped in Vegas.

Caitlin says the ceremony at the Graceland Wedding Chapel was much more serious than she’d expected, and it gave her the giggles. Perry kept it together though.

Perry and Caitlin became grownups together. But they kept fighting about the same old stuff they’d fight about when they were 20.

After an unplanned pregnancy and miscarriage, they found it hard to be around each other. Perry wanted to talk about whether or not they’d try to be parents; Caitlin couldn’t bear the thought of talking about it. Perry wasn’t sure if he wanted to be with Caitlin anymore. He needed to figure it out. So he went big. He signed up for a course at the Boulder Outdoor Survival School in Utah, where he spent two weeks hiking through the desert with just a knife, a cup, and a blanket. He slept in caves, made fire and shelter, and trapped his own food.

Perry liked it so much at BOSS that he quit his high-paying job to go teach courses there. He built himself a yurt, all tricked out with solar electric lights and a trap-door wine cellar. And he and Caitlin decided to get divorced.

The next time they saw each other was at our friend Ravinder’s wedding.

But then, a few months ago, I emailed Perry and asked him how he was doing, and he said he was great. That he was going to spend some time with Caitlin and they were going to try to have a kid together. Of course, I had to know more. So I called them to find out what was up.

NOTE: This show includes an update to the original episode, which ended in a cliffhanger. I don’t want to give it all away, but hint below:

Are YOU raising kids under unusual circumstances?
Tell us all about it. Down there, in the comments.

Photo of Caitlin dancing: Jameson Brown Photography