Counting Down!

Dwayne is coming to visit!

I am so happy and excited that the love of all my lifetimes is finally going to be here in Austin! We have a bond more powerful than anything that can be described by the mere words of humans. It transcends time and space; it total and immortal. We have loved each other since the beginning of time, and we will love each other until time ends. We know this as surely as we know that night follows day.

It's funny, but I don't know exactly how long we have been together in this lifetime. Most women can tell you the date they met their man, where they were and what they were wearing. I know HOW we met, and how it began. But a date? Nope. Even a year? Nope again. It's probably in the area of 4+ years. Frankly, it doesn't matter a bit. We found each other, and we are together. That's all that matters to me.

He lives in Michigan; I lived in NY until 2 months ago. Life circumstances have kept us living in different states thus far. Now, finally, we are beginning to see the day coming when we will be able to live together at last.

So, in 2 days he will be coming here to Austin for the very first time. I can't wait to see him ,of course. I actually feel like a teenager getting ready for her first date -- that's how excited and happy I am. My ADD brain has been whirling feverishly for weeks now, planning and anticipating and dreaming.

We have this incredible psychic/mental/emotional connection, and we have had it since the very first night we spoke. It has always been amazing and intense, but here in Austin it is even stronger than before. I feel him so close -- most days I can almost feel him touching me, or see his precious face. To know that 48 hours from now I will be in his arms is a thought so beautiful that it almost makes me cry.

There are so many things I want to show him here, so many places I want to take him! I want him to meet my friends, and I want to see my beautiful city through his eyes. I know he will be more than enchanted by Austin. How could he not be? He is the other part of me, so I know he will fall as deeply in love with this magical place as I have. I just can't wait for him to look north on Congress Avenue and see our magnificent Capitol building, in all it's proud glory. I can't wait to stand on the Ann Richards Bridge and watch his face as the bats fly out, swooping and swirling on their nightly dance. I want to listen to music with him at the Elephant Room and the Continental Club, and I want to explore the museums and Sixth Street with him. I want to prowl around SoCo together, and buy him a snack at Hey, Cupcake. I want to sit outside and eat with him, and ride the bus with him (which he will tease me about) and I want to swim in Barton Springs with him.

Mostly, though, I just want to be with him here. I can't wait to look into his eyes, and hold his hand, and kiss his sweet lips, and talk and laugh with him. All that, and more. I can't wait to fall asleep in his arms and wake up next to him. I love him, and he will be here in less than 2 days!

Texas Skies

They say that everything is bigger in Texas. The more I get to know Texas (and Texans) I am starting to believe it.

It surely seems as if the sky here is bigger and bluer than anywhere else. I am constantly amazed to wake every virtually morning to another clear, sunny day. The sun blazes hot here, even in the early morning, yet it only reaches is full power and glory in the mid-afternoon. Afternoons here are made for siestas, as puny humans are truly not equipped to meet the Texas sun head-on. At least, humans that were bred in the northeast aren't!

It is not the sun that is so remarkable, however. I find the sky here breathtaking. It goes on forever after, wide and wonderful. The Texas sky is a blue so powerful that it almost hurts to look at it. It's surreal; not even remotely like anything I've ever seen before. Even a clear day in NY will never get this intense, color-saturated vibrancy. The Texas sky sings to me.

As if the universe knows that I couldn't quite bear that thoroughly unrelenting blueness, I am always gifted a few fleecy, white, cottony cumulus clouds hanging peacefully above me. They hang low, so low I can almost reach out and touch their softness.

The light changes at dusk, as an ethereal glow settles around us for a few fleeting moments. Sunsets are a blaze of Texas colors -- peach, orange, red, gold, violet, and indigo, all melting together in a swirling Cezanne-like display, finally dancing offstage to make way for the black velvet of night.

The stars are low here, and lavish in their display. I can see eternity in their serene abundance. The night sky is a soft shawl, wrapping me in it's embrace.

I am a pagan here, connected to Creation as I stand on the hard clay earth and gaze at my gorgeous Texas sky in all it's glory. Time loses meaning when you are celebrating eternity and singing with the universe.