And so it begins...

Ahhhhh... The arduous task of trying to balance real life (paying bills, being a "grown-up", and work - or at least some semblance of it), and squeezing EVERYTHING that needs to be done, into the next 16 days and 23 hours.  What do I want to take with me? What am I better off leaving behind? What does she already have that isn't worth moving because we don't need two of something? Should we book hotels along the way, or stop when we get tired?  Do they have Starbucks in the Mojave desert? When can the dentist/primary care physician/optometrist squeeze me in before my healthcare benefits run out? When is my California license finally going to endorse? These are the daily ponderances that gallop through the left side of my brain...

Meanwhile, the right side of my brain is a firework display of rainbow-colored craziness.  I can't wait to see her walk off that plane! I can't wait to wrap my arms around her and kiss her lips and look in to her eyes in person, rather than on a computer screen! I can't wait to make our way across America to OUR home, where we will start the next chapter in our lives and finally build on the happiness that both of us deserve, but neither of us ever allowed ourselves to believe we would have!

Yes... I am a little wired.  I just got home from working a 13 hour shift, I am already 3/4 of the way through my Venti iced Cafe Americano (Approximately 300 mg of caffeine, according to the Starbucks Nutrition facts... Just for reference sake, a 5-hour energy shot contains only 207 mg.), Tricia is on the Right half of my computer screen, snoring on Skype because her boyfriend is inconsiderate of the fact that there is a 3-hour time difference, and I am pretty sure she just 'dropped me' between the mattress and the nightstand.

I should probably be packing, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to take a moment to share a bit of the craziness in my head. Now off to put on sweats, break out the boxes and packing tape, turn on some "packing music", and make some magic happen!

Catch you on the flip-side!

- Derek