I hadn't really thought about it until I was sitting in the airport on Sunday, admittedly trying not to cry my eyes out in public, but I realized Abe and I have had to say goodbye 3 times now after only being together a few days at a time. It's so strange to think that our actual, in person relationship has only taken place in 3 to 10 day stints...why we couldn't have figured out we were supposed to be together when we were in the same town I'll never know. But to be perfectly honest, I don't think I'd have it any other way. I've been the happiest I have ever been in the last 6 months, and that's being apart from each other, I can't even imagine how happy I'll be when we live in the same state again. This time apart has really given us a chance to grow and take risks and learn to trust what we have, and I don't know if we could have gotten the same emotional experience without the distance, so I'm continually grateful for it, as hard as it's been.
Moving away from the pensive broodings of tired Kimber and onto happy details of the weekend :) I flew in Thursday night and we went straight from the airport to blues dancing, which was just what I needed. I loved seeing a few familiar faces (most of whom said something along the lines of "We've danced before...how do I know you??" within about 10 seconds of dancing with me or hearing my name, so I'd quickly explain that we met over New Years) and enjoyed meeting lots of new people. I think my second favorite thing about dancing, the first being the dance itself in all of its intimacies, is catching other people watching me dance. I love that I'm at the level now that people actually stop to watch me, it makes me feel so good, like I've finally moved past the phase of worrying about what I look like and into the place of actually looking good because the movement is coming naturally. So obviously, the first night = success. We grabbed some In-N-Out on the way home at about 2am, which was a nice chance to finally just sit down and talk and look at each other for the first time in 2 months. Just being able to reach across the table and put my hand in his was so simply and deeply satisfying.
Friday was a mix of lazy and productive. after sleeping in late, we got up and ready for the day only to decide we didn't want to do anything just yet so we curled up on the couch and got caught up on a TV show we both watch and just enjoyed the down time. Around 1 we decided we needed to do
something productive, so we ran all our errands to Costco, getting the oil changed, and getting him a much-needed haircut. We came home to a beautiful sunset so we took our sandwiches on a lovely walk around the park near his house.
Saturday morning found us making breakfast with our friend Meghan, who brought a lovely fruit bowl to our pancake bar meal--it was marvelous. Abram's niece had a birthday party that day up in south San Francisco, so that's where we spent most of our afternoon. His brother's neighborhood there in San Bruno is an interesting eclectic mix of architecture and style, and we got to see an impressive amount of it on a walk we took to let his niece nap away from the party-filled house. I also got to hold his other niece for about an hour that afternoon, and oh my word, what a beautiful, tiny little bundle she was. She's about 6 weeks old and was happy to just snooze on my chest and let me get my fill of snuggles :)
That night there was a big blues house party, which was probably the highlight of the weekend. We danced for a good 6 hours straight, staying up into the wee hours of the morning by the fire pit in the backyard and all taking turns in the droopy hammock. The other thing I love so much about blues is what an instant community there is between dancers. I felt immediately welcome and unconditionally loved, leaving with many more friends than I came in with. I can't wait to have that be my permanent community this summer!! I'll leave you with a beautiful picture from that night, and tell you that I couldn't be happier :)