Long time gone

So after an absence of more than two years I return. I am once again drawn by the need of writing. I have been writing in my bedside book. But now need to put more thoughts out.

Catchup: In the last two years I moved back from the Caribbean at the request of my then fiance'/boyfriend. Who promptly freaked the eff out and we split. I finished the guest bedroom in my mother's house and redid century old hardwood floors that had been hidden for more than 50 years. Oh, and I lost 25 pounds. Looked great! Moved to Vermont. Discovered happiness grows in VT - Who knew!?!? Vermont men loved me and I loved them. A fireman, an artist, a IT/dj, a beefcake. Done, done and done. Cabot cheese and Magic Hat were also new loves. Finished my thesis and graduated from my two graduate programs. Then He Who Cannot Be Named returned and begged for me back. For no reason other than I am a bad judge of character and an eternal optimist, I broke it off with my ever loving VT cadre of lovelies and took him back. Insert a move to DC where I would work for Congress. Insert a new proposal, a new ring, a "new" man and - no surprise- the same mess and the same issues. Right before I ran my first marathon (no running to running a marathon in 25 weeks!) I realized that it was all over all over again and I asked him not to come up for his next visit. In fact it was almost exactly after our 6th anniversary. The present I got myself? Freedom.

That was last October. I have since regained my normal weight (and even a bit more curves), found amazing friends, have dated all over the district (yes, he had a girl in the wings who is now the "love" of his life), got a new job with a great non profit, moved out of an uncomfortable living situation into my own digs, got braces, lopped all my hair off, invested in boots and heels, went on my first vacation (i.e. no conference, no visiting family, no school break, just fun), got a queen sized bed, splurged on an armoire, joined the low carbon diet (Zipcar), bought a bike, etc.

When folks ask me why I look so happy, how I look so good - I respond with a line blatantly plagiarized from my bartender's stories, "I lost 175 pounds of jerk!"

So that is what you see behind me. The starting blocks on the edge of the pool of life.