5 years and waiting

They broke up about the same time Liz and I did.

She told him she couldn't go through with it about a week before the wedding.

It was painful watching him deal (and not deal) with it in front of friends and coworkers ... it was hard to see him in my office with tears in his eyes trying to wrap his head around it.

He went to counseling and it seemed to help. He eventually started dating again and learned to let her back into his life from time-to-time. We shared our frustrations over countless numbers of beers and closed-door counseling sessions in my office.

She was doing what Liz was doing to me. Come here, go away, come here, go away. We shared ways to cope with the heartache, bragged about who we were dating, sure that we both had moved past the breakup.

And then we reached this conclusion at about the same time ... or least vocalized it at the same time: we would always be in love with our exes.

He gave me a lot of support when Liz and I started dating again. He told me that they were starting to date again, too. And he asked me to keep it to myself. And I did.

Liz and I didn't make it but they continued, taking small steps forward and sometimes one or two back. But they continued. And continued.

He pulled me into his office last week and, with a smile and tears glistening in his eyes (and mine), told me they were getting married in the fall. Probably not a big wedding and maybe just the two of them.

Dreams do come true.

How hot is it?

This is when I hate this state.

It's so hot, I have to run at 7 a.m. and even then it takes 30 minutes to stop sweating once I finish.
It's so hot, my dog is going through 2 bowls of water a day ... and he's an inside dog.
It's so hot, my front yard is hard and crunchy and I don't care because it's too hot to stand out there and water.
It's so hot, when I come in the house after work I'm freezing and the temperature is 82 in the house.
It's so hot, I sleep under a ceiling fan, thermostat on 76 and a box fan.

I'd trade you July and August in Texas for three months in Rochester winter.

Catch up, not ketchup

Has it really been since April? What a slacker.

OK, take a deep breath, sit down, shut up and hold on. I'm going to give you the short version.

times are very bad in newspaperland and the mothership laid off one of my best friends at the s-t. caren and i went to big bend for a hiking breastfest3 and i dangled my size 6.5's at 7500 feet over the south texas desert. back to work and for the second quarter, we lay off (volunteer and otherwise) many more. lost another one of my best friends. liz and i are talking, hell, even drinking together every now and then. nothing to it don't go there. but we admitted that we aren't complete without one another. she's off in facebook land doing her thing and i'm nesting in my house, thinking of ways i can survive early retirement. one word: mexico. my mom had a slight stroke and i've been helping dad and my siblings care for her. i cook on sundays and take food over. she's doing great and we convinced dad that he needs to continue his volunteer work at the hospital. my car is paid off and first paycheck went to .... drumroll, please, a new bedroom set. zak attacked a cat. cost me 1100. shit. caren and i are muddling through. i like my life. she likes hers. she bought me sheets today. in some lesbian relationships that's akin to a proposal. but not this one. her book convention is at the end of the month in phoenix and she bought me a ticket. her book, let it shine, is coming out in october, I think. then we're going to a gay, end of summer fete in new orleans at the end of august. southern decadence.

i guess that a wrap ... exhale.