Allison,

Happy one-month anniversary of our first email!

Love you,

M

Is that all it’s been? Seriously? Wow — that hardly seems possible.

Oprah Winfrey recommends keeping a “grateful journal” in which you “list five things that happened this day that you are grateful for. What it will begin to do is change your perspective of your day and your life. If you can learn to focus on what you have, you will always see that the universe is abundant; you will have more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never have enough.”

1. I’m grateful that I will never date again. It’s almost second nature to add “if everything goes well” or “god willing” or some other disclaimer, but you know what? I’m not going to do it. I’m done, and I’m keeping this one. From the way this relationship works, I’m confident we’ll stay together as long as we’re both alive. And after that, if I’m the one left over, I doubt I’d be able to top him anyway.
2. I’m grateful that my daughter is napping well. That might sound like a little thing, but I’ll tell you, after a few weeks of off-again-on-again travelling, having her in her own room, zonked out to the world is a very. good. thing.
3. I’m grateful for my job. Don’t get me wrong. I actually hate my job (thus the upcoming post topic re: work and worth). I’d like to do nearly anything besides work in the family business. But, working in the family biz has allowed me to be the full-time caregiver for my daughter, and that’s priceless (cue the Mastercard ads).
4. I’m grateful for Monster.com Last night, I was talking about job thoughts and stress with my counselor, and as a lark, I pulled up Monster for Santa Fe. Guess what? I found a listing that had my background written all over it. Of course, I still have to (ahem) apply. And get an interview. And get a job. But it’s good to have a light at the end of the tunnel.
5. I’m grateful for my husband-to-be. I know, I know. That one’s so damned obvious, it’s as if I’m cheating. But this isn’t a repeat of item #1. In that one I’m grateful for something *not* happening, which is nowhere near the same as being grateful for something happening. He’s a beautiful man — seriously one of the best human beings I’ve met, ever. And yet, he seems to think the same of me. Every now and then, I wonder how the heck I snow-jobbed him into that delusion…then I remember that I didn’t. He knows me, not “me.”

Your turn: What makes you feel grateful today?

Mine is more attractive. No kidding. I’ll keep the one I’ve got, and FOX can keep RSL.

(I’m finally watching the first House episode of season 3 from my DVR.)

Him: So, should we have a theme for this wedding?

Me: Hmmm…well, there could be James Bond; that’s nice and elegant. But, would that make me Pussy Galore?

Him: How ’bout you could wear a halo? I could be Molested by an Angel.

Me: Oh! It could be a divine wedding! I’m touched by your noodly appendage.

(uproarious laughter)

God, I love this man.

~~~~~

Yeah, wedding. I said wedding. November is the timeframe we’re working with, and I’m thrilled. He knows me more in depth than most men would after two years of dating, and I trust him with my life.

First things first, between returning to Effexor in mid-July and having a severe loss of appetite related to the whole love-thing, I’m now back to roughly my pre-pregnancy weight (upper 130s). I say roughly, because as a girl who wasn’t *trying* to get pregnant, I wasn’t tracking what I weighed, so this is my best guess. Beyond the obvious lack of nutrition (which honestly concerns me, and I’m trying to make myself eat more), I have another theory on the rapid weight drop (14 pounds in the past month).

I notice that it’s as if my body’s “set point” — ie, the weight it wants me to be — becomes significantly higher with moderate amounts of negative stress. I crave foods that pack weight on me, and even when I ignore the cravings, my body simply refuses to shed the extra. When I’m happy (gee, like NOW), the weight falls off with barely any effort. I think that there’s some sort of primal programming wherein if I’m stressed, my body plans for a coming famine. Whatever the case, I feel like I’m back in my own skin for the first time in 2-1/2 years, and I’m delighted. I feel like a goddess. Having a man tell me (consistently) that he sees me that way doesn’t hurt, of course.

Yes, I’m still absolutely crazy about him.

Meant to Be

We were talking the other night, and my guy (guess I need a blog pseudonym) said that as corny as it may sound, that this felt like it was meant to be. I laughed, but then proceded to tell him how much I despise the term “Meant to Be.”

Do you have any idea how many bad decisions I’ve made in my life because I thought something was “meant to be?” Let’s just say: many.

The problem that I have with this concept is simple. At least in the way I always applied the term, there was a feeling of god/the universe/whatever being in charge, and my decisions counting for nothing. It’s not that someone took my rights away from me; rather, that I happily handed them over. This, in turn, meant that when irksome problems and red flags began to appear (especially in relationships), that I’d brush them aside. I mean, if this relationship was “meant to be,” who was I to question the nit-picky details?

So this current relationship? It’s not “meant to be.” It’s wonderful. It’s amazing. He’s everything I’ve wanted, plus many things I didn’t even realize I needed. He even can fill my wish that I tacked to the end of the Diving Board post last month:

It means I’ve decided to let myself look. And initiate. And, god willing, fall madly, crazily in love with someone. I want to think about his face, quiver when he speaks, and admire who he is. I want to fantasize about tugging on his lower lip with my teeth, running my tongue along his spine, and raising the hair on his neck when I kiss his collarbone. I want to experience wonder when I wake up and see this man whom I can’t believe feels the same about me. There. How’s that for a start?

Howdya like them apples? A month ago today, I threw that out there. Today, a mere 31 days later, I’m living it. Hooooaaaaah.

Where was I? Oh, right. This relationship is all of those things. But it’s not “meant to be.” I’m not walking into something with my eyes half-closed, trusting god/universe/whatever to make decisions for me. *I* am making decisions. I’m still looking and watching for signals that I could be making a big mistake here, and there’s still nothing. Every. Little. Thing. tells me that I can trust this man with my life and (even more difficult for me) with my heart, and that he’ll do well by me and by my daughter. My brain isn’t unplugged as in those early (albeit heady) romances that all eventually went kaplooey. It’s engaged, not instead of my heart, but alongside it.

And I like it that way. I can choose to love rather than simply letting love happen to me. What a better, stronger, and more powerful way to live one’s life.

I mean, do these people look happy, or what? Do I really have to wait three whole days until we have that originally planned date?

Yes, you’re welcome to go barf in a corner at this point. I know, it’s way too sweet. Deal with it.

Meeting came much faster than I’d originally planned — Thursday afternoon in Santa Fe.

All is well, and I’m very happy — and laughing that a short time ago I questioned whether I was capable of feeling anything. To keep it simple, I will be seeing a lot of this man for a very long time to come.

Here it is, early in the AM, and I’m finishing packing. Now. Oh, coffee. My lifeline.

Why so tired? Instead of finishing my packing lika any sane human being would have done, I spent 2-1/2 to 3 hours on the phone last night. Did I mention how much I hate long phone calls? It’s fabulous to meet someone who’s the exception to the rule…and I’ve kicked the others to the curb to give myself a little time to figure out where this may lead.

That’s the problem about setting a date so far in advance. The anticipation just might kill me. I’d tell you that I’m holdling back until then (to ease any potential heartache), but who am I kidding? I’m totally into him, and holding back nothing.

Anyhoo, I’ll be back Monday night. See ya then!

If he only knew.

I checked email one last time before bed, and “just for fun” he forwarded a recent photo of himself, along with two RSL photos provided by his housemate. She and I are right.

Oh, Claudio! (snicker)