Looking back

New Years is always a good time to reflect. One of my FB memories came up where I announced that I was once again accepting applications for a new fella at this time last year. That got me thinking about that relationship. It started good, but ended way before it actually ended due to his inability to just TELL me we were done. It actually kind of mirrored my post-college boyfriend back home where he just went unresponsive and I didn't see him for a month. The difference is, post college mandi made that one break up with her. Last year mandi sent the "I guess we are done here" message and wished him well.

What I didn't do last year was tell him or really anyone else how painful it was to go from "I like you" to ... crickets. I remember driving home from NM, I kept texting him updates and hearing nothing back. One of his excuses was he was arguing with someone in a FB group, and just forgot to respond. That stung. Once I realized things were over, I saw all the signs in retrospect. People ALWAYS show you how they feel about you... when words and actions don't add up, always belive the actions over the words.

The point of this is not to revisit old wounds, but to celebrate how very different it is this year. This year I have a fella who shows me what I mean to him in tons of different ways. He texts me constantly and always lets me know when he's busy and when he can chat. We celebrated the holidays together and it was lovely. He cooks for me, we can work through our issues, and he is really considerate of when I need recharging time. He also introduced me to his family and has been kinda funny when it comes to making things "FB official." I think back to last year and I'm so grateful. Grateful that it ended but also grateful that it showed me what not to accept. There was one instance where I talked to that one about an issue, and that gave me the courage to talk to J when issues come up. It sucks having hard convos, but they are necessary in an adult, healthy relationship. It's funny because I've spent so long observing and logging advice that I have a lot of working theories on relationships and now I'm finding out if some theories hold water or if I've just been fooling myself. I do thank God for my ladies, as I do tend to go "am I nuts or is this valid" a lot. 

We had a lovely day off together on Friday. I went over to his place and hung out with him and the cat for a while. Then we ended up going for a burger which somehow turned into a mini bar crawl, which was WAY fun. 

I gave Ace his Christmas present...

catnip lime....

and whisker claw. Hehehe... I saw him playing with both, so I'm gonna say he liked em.

I love when we all sit together he'll sit on me, but has to have one or both paws on J. He loves his human.

Such a photogenic void! Hehe. I love this cat.

We went to Kool Keg first, which is a really nice place. I had the "wintervention" beer which was AMAZING. I also tried a Mango wheat beer which was also good, but I preferred this one. We then went to a "natural grocery" that had piqued our interest before. We ended up getting a couple drinks and bringing them to the car to stay cold. We then ended up visiting the curb where one of his friend "parkour-ed" and hurt her ankle on the way to Fuzzys taco shop. Well, fuzzys was across the street from Division Brewery, which I'd wanted to try and J had seen a pizza on their website he wanted to try, so in we went. They had a nice vibe, the pizza was tavern style and very good, and about halfway thru our 2nd beers, the bartender asked if we knew that they had a LOT more going on. He walked us thru the back room (pool and Foosball tables) out to the patio (tables, heaters, and covered spaces), and into the brewery part (more beers, barrels, and tables). It was so cool! 

The beer list in the front of the brewery... there was this and about 8-10 more in the back. My favorite was #8- it was a brown ale.

Isn't it pretty???

The bartender told us the beers usually cycle thru every few weeks so when we come back they may be totally different. I'm excited to try more. 

J said he had needed an outing, and we'll need to find a balance between my introversion and his extroversion. I know it can happen because my aunt M and uncle D are in the same boat. It will be interesting when we find a place together. We've been looking in Burleson, and I imagine we'll find something. Probably close-ish to the HEB. Best grocery store in TX! Hehe.  He's back to work today and I'm probably going to take down the Christmas tree and clean my apt a bit. Getting back into the routine at work and will hopefully get some answers about my job this week. Sigh... still super stressful, there. 

Much love to all, may your 2024 be uneventful, all things to be 100% precidented. Let's all live in uninteresting times! Hehe. MUAH! 😘