A Little Bit More Than So Much

There's so much to say, I don't know where to begin...

I thought it would be easier to say goodbye this time because I know that I'll see him again in 4 weeks. But actually, it turned out to be much harder. I've grown so much more attached to him--fallen so much deeper in love with him--than I was 7 months ago. I think one of us will have to move within the next year. I think it will probably be me. Which really just puts more pressure on this trip of mine to Italy next month...as if there could be any more pressure on it!

The past week went by way too quickly. We had so much fun together...cooking and baking and kissing and laughing and reading stories and watching movies and walking around the city. I wish I could pick out my favorite moment, but it's impossible. Was it our tickle war? Was it when the waitress brought us juice in wine goblets and told us we were king & queen for the day? Was it listening to him do funny voices while he read Pinocchio to me? Was it him spinning me in the kitchen while we danced to a mixed CD full of silly love songs, like Dean Martin's "That's Amore"? I don't know...there are too many beautiful memories to choose from. It probably wasn't being swarmed by mosquitoes at the corn maze, although the sunset that night was one of the loveliest I've ever seen. I don't think it was my sister teasing us about holding hands while walking down a flight of stairs, but it might have been walking around the oldest part of the city together while the sun was coming up that morning. When we're together, the smallest things become these beautiful, magical moments that I know I'll treasure forever.

My bounty is as boundless as the sea,

My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.

-"Romeo and Juliet"-

Today's the Day

I've been waiting six and a half very long months, and today I finally get to see my sweetheart again. Being in a long-distance relationship is probably the hardest thing I've ever done. Of course trust is important in all meaningful relationships, but I think it's especially vital to a long-distance one. Our current arrangement could never work if we didn't have that implicit faith in each other. Anyway, his plane touches down in about 3 hours, and I've been awake for about 28 hours now. There have been so many last-minute things to do! Although truthfully, most of them wouldn't have been "last-minute" if I hadn't put them off until the last minute. I'm just hoping, now that I'm almost done with everything I needed to do, that I don't fall asleep and forget to pick him up. That would be terrible!

So I won't be blogging for a while. I'd love to say that the minute he goes back to Italy, I'll blog about the week and post a billion pictures, but I'll probably be an emotional wreck and take a nap. And I have to work that night. So it could be a couple weeks before I put up a real post. Until then, I hope everyone has a wonderful last week of September!

A Note About Safety

This is for everyone, but especially for the ladies...

First, some background information: I work at the post office. Because it's a federal building, even the parking lot is considered federal property and it's considered trespassing to drive through the lot if you're not an employee. The parking lot is fenced, and there are signs at the gates (which are always open, because we've got people working in the building 24/7). Also, the parking lot has slanted spaces, and we have a rule against pulling through spaces. I have a certain row that I always park in, and on days when we have a lot of mail, I might have to park close to the end of the row (pretty far away from the building).

Well, yesterday was one of those busy days, and when I turned down my row, it was pretty full. There was an old Isuzu SUV pulled through a space, and there was an empty space to the left of the vehicle (with another SUV parked on the other side of that space), and several empty spaces to the right of the vehicle. I wasn't really sure I had the mad parking skillz to park between two SUVs, so I decided to park on the right side of the Isuzu. I noticed that there was someone sitting inside the Isuzu, but I didn't really think anything of it because it's not unusual for people to sit in their cars talking on the phone before they go inside to clock in. So I went about my normal parking routine: turning off my a/c, shutting off the car, putting my keys away, etc. I happened to glance over at the guy in the Isuzu to see if it was anybody I recognized, and he was staring me straight in the eye. It made me feel very uncomfortable. I started to analyze the situation I was in: parked far away from the building, my driver's side right next to his driver's side, although there were a lot of cars in the lot there weren't any people...and this guy was staring at me with this creepy little half-smile on his face. So I turned my car back on and got the heck out of there. I found a space in my row that was very close to the building, and I hurried into the building to tell a supervisor. After she confronted him, he said he was looking for the gun show, and she said he appeared to be intoxicated. Personally I think he was making it up, but I guess I'll never know. I do know that in that situation, I felt very uncomfortable, and I think I made the right decision by following my instincts.

A few weeks ago, my stepmom gave me a copy of The Gift of Fear, by Gavin De Becker. At the time, I thought it was silly...I thought reading a book like that would just make me paranoid and more afraid and suspicious. Although I haven't read the book yet, I've flipped through it enough to get the basic message: follow your instincts. I don't know what that man's intentions were yesterday, but I know that I could have been the victim of a violent crime if I hadn't followed those instincts yesterday, if I hadn't been aware of my surroundings. So please, please, please follow your instincts. Be aware of your surroundings, especially if you're alone or in an unfamiliar place. It only takes a few seconds to look around and evaluate a situation, but it could save your life. If something seems 'wrong' or gives you a bad gut feeling, just go with it. Don't worry about seeming paranoid or prejudiced. The latter is especially hard for me...I feel guilty rolling up my windows or checking to make sure my doors are locked when I see someone of another race walking by my car. But it's never just because of their race...it's because of how they're dressed or how they're walking or because they're carrying a baseball bat or walking the streets at 2am. And as guilty as I feel about it, I'd rather be a little bit prejudiced than a whole lot dead. (By the way, the prejudice thing doesn't apply to yesterday...the man was a member of my own race, and I do have a rough idea of the statistics regarding violent crimes against women perpetrated by white men...I'm probably more suspicious of them than anybody else.)

Work In Progress

That phrase is pretty fitting for my life these days--I seem to be in the middle of so many things, but nothing is ever done. Unfortunately, most of these projects have a common end date, September 23rd. Otherwise known as ten days from now. Crap.

In ten days, my sweetheart will be here. Between now and then, I need to do three months worth of laundry, organize all of my craft stuff (well, I don't really have time to organize anything...I just need to remove all of my fiber piles from the living room), get Max groomed, finish knitting two bunnies and an elephant, and make a dinner reservation for 17 people.

But in my spare time, I can't help flipping through my two new sock knitting books, 2-At-A-Time Socks and Sensational Knitted Socks, and the October issue of Country Living, plus working on a pair of socks for myself, my Moon River Socks (using Lisa Stichweh's Pillars pattern and Dream In Color Smooshy in Pansy Golightly):

Coming Attractions

It's only the first week of September, but autumn is already starting to peak through. Typically we're plagued with an indian summer swelter through the middle of the month, but so far September has been blissfully cool. There are several little orange leaves peppering the driveway and (still green) yard. Starbucks has the pumpkin spice latte back on the menu. And, perhaps a final farewell to my childhood summers, we've had our swimming pool removed. There's a big crater in the backyard now, which the dogs are having a blast with.

Anyway, I'm thankful for autumn's early appearance, although I hope it's not the harbinger of an early winter. Last winter was brutal, and I'm hoping for a more mild one this year.

19/54*

No knitting, baking, or otherwise crafty content for today. Instead, please indulge me in this post about my personal life.

In 19 days, my sweetheart will be visiting me for a whole week! I've been counting down the days for a couple of weeks now. I still have quite a lot of things to do before he gets here...mostly cleaning, but also organizing/finalizing our plans during his stay. When he was here six months ago (ugh, yes, it's been that long since I've seen him...I'm going crazy!), he met my parents and my younger brother. This time he'll be meeting my older siblings, my nieces & nephews, and my grandparents. We'll also be celebrating my birthday together, which will be magical for me. I have a longstanding history of disappointing birthdays, but nothing can ruin this one. Even if it rains and we're stuck at home all day, just spending my birthday together will make it perfect.

In 54* days, I'll be traveling to Italy to meet his family and friends for the first time. I'm so nervous! None of his family speaks any English, and my Italian is extremely limited, at best. I'm working on it, but it's not coming to me as easily as Spanish or even French (and I really struggled with French). I know a few words and phrases, but I can't form sentences, and spoken Italian just sounds like gobbledygook to me. Anyway, I'm trying not to focus on that part of my trip. Rather, I'm spending all of my time daydreaming about the little trip we'll be making to Venice! My piccolo has booked a room for us at 3749 Ponte Chiodo, a bed & breakfast in historic Venice. We'll also be making a little excursion to three of the islands in the lagoon: Murano, Burano, and Torcello.

Needless to say, I'm quite excited about my upcoming adventures, and I can't wait to share pictures with y'all. And there will be some crafty content tossed in along the way. My sweetheart has asked for a pair of socks, which I'll be knitting between his visit and mine, we're planning a trip to the local farmer's market while he's here (for operation: homemade applesauce), and we'll be baking some coconut cupcakes for my mother's birthday. Also, we may be visiting some yarn shops in Milan, and I'm hoping to knit a pair of socks for myself during my flights.

* = Although I'm leaving for Italy in 54 days (Oct. 28th), due to the length of my flight and the 7-hour time difference, I won't actually arrive in Italy until the 29th (55 days from now).