13 Days

Chris is moving to Phoenix in 13 days.
Chris and I will be living together in 13 days.
In 13 days, I will see Chris every day in a row.
In 13 days Chris and I will no longer have a long distance relationship.

I am ready. I'm ready to have him around all the time. He's my closest friend and I can't wait to have him really close. I had the realization recently that I've been fairly lonely the last two years. Due to the circumstances, I never paid much attention to my loneliness. I mean, what's the point of dwelling on something you really can't do anything about? But now that I'm about to have one of my favorite people around all the time, I'm really, really looking forward to it.

Tonight while I was getting my hair done, Loretta, my hairdresser, said something important. She said that it's good for people to rely on each other in a relationship, but you still have to be your own person and responsible for yourself. To me, this means that I can look forward to Chris being around all the time and to his companionship, but I can't rely on him to resolve all of my feelings of loneliness. Ultimately, dealing with that loneliness is up to me. Considering how well I've done for the past two years, I think I'm up to the task. I'm just writing this as a reference in case I slip up and need a reminder.

Chris is giving up an amazing amount of things to be with me. He's changing a significant portion of his life for me. That's something that I should not forget too quickly. It's easy to be selfish and think about what I'll be giving up. Like a ton of alone time, things in the house always being done my way, frequent flier miles. Lately I've been focusing more on what I'll be gaining. I'm gaining a partner, a companion, a shoulder to cry on, my very own furniture-maker, and mechanic. Oh yeah, AND another dog! (Chris has a black lab, Mac!)

Lately I've been having tons and tons of conversations about relationships, especially with my married friends. Admittedly I'm a little nervous. Can Chris and I handle living together? Will we kill each other? Or worse yet, end up hating each other? I certainly hope not. People do this all the time, right? This is a normal part of adulthood, right? I know that living with someone else can be a challenge and it takes plenty of work and compromise from both people. I know that we'll fight. I know we'll disagree. I know we'll have to over-communicate and compromise a lot. I think we'll do OK. And I know for sure, this next step of our relationship will stretch me more than ever. I'm confident it will make me a better person, because Chris makes me a better person.

Comments

I've even told Bently!! He just stares at me blankly and then scratches his head. I think he's ready. Mac, on the other hand, has no concept of the heat, dog door, or no grass, so he will need Bently to make sure he knows the ropes. It's going to be interesting. I want to make sure to chime in and let everyone know how excited I am about us and the direction we are moving. I am giving up a lot, but I believe deep down that it is the right thing and we will be great together (all the time). When I think about us in the big picture it's easy for me to say "Yes, this IS where I want to be!".

Posted by Chris on June 23, 2007 - 3:33am