And So It Starts

In a month, I'm away from nearly all that I'm familiar with.

The folks that I once hung out with have drifted away, like leaves on a breezy lake. I will miss them, but at the same time there's some relief - i was always pinning my hopes on them, wishing for company, for someone to call me up and say, Hey, Gretchen, do you want to go here and do this? Sure, this did happen a few times... sometimes with good results, sometimes not. It's only through such outings that I realized my love for Dark and Stormies - a mix of rum and ginger beer. Some of these outings also helped me realize that folks can be more disturbing than even they know.

In a month, I'll be hanging out with new people, and familiar people, and the one person that I want to spend the rest of my life with. My true match, my companion. Soulbound and loving it. Yes, I know I'm whipped. And that he is as well. I've never truly felt a love that's been so solid, lasted so long without a single lapse. And long-distance, yet! Sure, we go on "dates" in WoW, doing quests together on our toons. He texts me at work, and I call him when I go on my lunch break. But apart from visits on both sides of the country, we really haven't spent so much time together. But we want to live together, more than anything else. First with his family - it'll be close quarters, I know, what with his parents, two brothers, his sister and her husband and their little baby daughter, Audrey.

But I've been so lonely in this room. The ceiling is so high, the walls so bare... it's empty, except for me, and it almost always stays that way. No stove, no separation between preparation and relaxation. It's a mess. God help me on the day when it has to disappear - for it will. Some things will be left behind - my desk, the round table... but not the couch. That couch has held my body curled up for nap after nap, or with my feet up and pressed against the wall. Plus, it folds out to a bed, which has hosted three different people over the spring and summer. And it's very, very light. I just need a little space to store it... the microwave is going to be saved, too. Far too reminiscent of home to leave behind. Speakers and stereo will be stored, along with all my utensils and dishware (except for my personal mug, I think I'm taking that with me). Computer will be coming with me, with its original speakers to save space. My clothes... hopefully what I bring will all fit into the big blue duffelbag (the one that I can fit into - seriously). I can definitely skimp on the heavy stuff, since I'll be living out in the desert. Oh, and the mini-fridge is coming, too - it'll come in handy for Case's room, in case we want to store snacks and drinks so that his family doesn't consume them in our absence.

Ah, my readers... the chapter of my college life has come to an end. I have my B.A in English, with the minor in Religion. I have a solid job at Lenscrafters, which will be transferred once I settle in Case's hometown. I have my car, my computer, my health. And most of all, I have my love, which has kept me from going completely insane during these last few months. Sometimes this love even inspires me to write...

I wish to give you words of love, my dear,
That Aphrodite, throned in cloud and sky
Would smile and weep, my flow'ry lines to hear,
Devotion from a woman such as I.
My darling man, you are my diamond light,
The sun and star that guides me to your heart,
That never fades in shadow, nor in night,
Nor over miles that keep us now apart.
Our souls entwined, the weaving of our fates
Comes clearer as the chapter comes to close
In a story that our destiny creates,
As seeds and summer bloom a gorgeous rose.
So we do bloom, in reason and in rhyme,
To love and live together for all our time.


Sweet dreams,
Grety