We’d been discussing it for a long time, but the timing never really lined up in a way that would allow both of us to move out of current apartments and into a new one.  So when my apartment lease ended last year, I renewed it just long enough so that it’d end at the same time as Keith’s thus giving us the chance to either move in together at that point, or at least be on the same lease schedule so we could move in together in the future.  Luckily, April was the month to be, and everything kinda fell into place.

We got our places packed.  Well…he got his place packed, and I got mine somewhat packed, and then stayed up all night the day before the big move.  I still didn’t get close to finishing, and with 3 hours of sleep that night I was utterly exhausted during moving day.  Luckily we had movers to do all the work for us, and we just moved a few things that we didn’t want them to mess with like our computers and his LED TV, and a few other things.  Once they were all done, we both spent the next few days getting our old places emptied entirely of what the movers didn’t move for us, and then cleaned, and then we finally were able to call it quits and settle into our new home together.

We now live comfortably in a three bedroom apartment with a two car garage, and over 1600 square feet of living space.  :-)  It’s marvelous.  The only downside we’ve really noticed over the past month and a half has been how hard it is to keep this place cool; one side of the apt faces east, and the other faces west, so we catch the sun all day long.  We’re going to be investing in curtains as soon as possible, no doubt about that.  Other than that we had some trouble with the complex’s management team and maintenance guys when we first moved in, but things seem to have settled down and we at last have reliable hot water and a microwave that doesn’t take 10 minutes to cook spaghettios.

It’s been an adjustment to say the least, but one I’ve embraced and enjoyed every day.  We’ve had a few arguments, but nothing serious.  We’ve clashed on a few things, but again, nothing that turned into a big fight.  I really think Keith and I know how to talk to each other and work through things without making a big deal out of it, and it’s really helped us in our relationship so far.  Living with him has been one of the best decisions I’ve made.  Coming home to see his car already in the garage, and seeing him on the couch or in the dining room still makes me smile.  I love not having to ask “who’s place are we gonna hang out at tonight” because now it’s our place.

I’m going to skip to Sunday since that was when everything seemed to fall into place for the perfect weekend.  Keith and I spent almost the whole afternoon lounging around my apartment just relaxing in each other’s company, something that after 6 months we still enjoy.  Speaking for myself, there isn’t a day that goes by that he isn’t the foremost thought on my mind, and the primary reason for any random smile that breaks across my face.  A three minutes conversation on the phone can pick up the dreariest day and bring sunshine back into my perception again.  He doesn’t see it in himself, but he is so loving and warm and selfless that it makes me want to be the same for him, and for six months now I’ve strived to do so – and I’ll continue to do so for the next six months and so on.

For lunch we went out to Chili’s (where we had met for the first time for our first date) and just enjoyed being with each other.  I know it sounds cheesy and corny and all those things that single people find annoying in non-single people, but it’s true.  Just being with each other felt like more than enough entertainment and we kinda just talked and ate and had a great time.  For dinner we got Pei-Wei and took it back to my place so we could watch TV and relax some more for the evening.  After dinner Keith told me he forgot something at his apartment and had to go get it, then he’d be back.  I honestly didn’t think much of it, though looking back I suppose I should have.

About 15-20 minutes later he knocked on the door and when I opened it I was shocked to see him holding a Baskin Robin’s ice cream cake for me.  He knows I don’t care for cake very much, but that as a kid I always loved ice cream cakes, so he’d planned on running to get one once we’d settled in for the night.  It was such a wonderful surprise that I almost cried.  He’s so sweet to me.  He then told me he couldn’t wait a moment longer and wanted to give me my birthday present.  I opened it to find the Nintendo DS game “Pokemon Platinum”.  For those of you laughing, cease and desist – I loved it.  I’ve practically played it nonstop since he handed it over, and it’s great.  I know it’s a little childish but I don’t care, and what I love about Keith is that neither does he.  The poor thing was genuinely terrified that he’d misjudged me and that I’d hate it.  I hope I was able to convince him how on-the-spot the gift truly was, and how much I’m going to enjoy playing it, thinking of him each time I do so.

Monday morning we did some running around, then Keith told me what he had planned for my actual birthday.  Apparently he remembered months ago when I mentioned to him that I thought it’d be fun if we went to the GameWorks at the Grapevine Mills Mall to play arcade games together, because that’s exactly what he had in mind.  We had lunch in the restaurant upstairs, and had the place all to ourselves.  We both ordered one of the most delicious mini-pizzas I’ve ever had the satisfaction of devouring, and then when I confessed it was my birthday to the waitress (in the hopes of scoring freebies) she brought me a little bowl of ice cream.  We then spent about two hours running around the place playing all our childhood favorites.  He then made the day even more perfect by allowing me to sneak a kiss in a semi-private hallway even though there were people all around.  Nobody saw, but the fact that he kissed me in public brought the goofiest smile to my face, and it didn’t go away for hours.

I spent the rest of the afternoon/evening with family and then called it a night.  Between the special day with Keith on Sunday, and my birthday on Monday, it was the best weekend I can ever remember having.  Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes, and special thanks to Keith for making it so perfect.

We met almost 2 months ago and spent a few weeks getting to know each other.  Laughing at just how much we actually have in common.  I’ve never had that with anyone I’ve dated before.  In the past, I’ve had to strive to find similarities so there would be common ground to stand on and mutual interests to discuss.  It’s not like that anymore.  With him I’m able to talk about anything, mention any interest, and without fail he’s right there with me ready to talk about how much he likes it too.

It got to the point where we actually made a game out of finding differences instead of similarities.  It sounds strange, but we actually have to try to find them, and we have fun doing so.  Instead of saying, “Oh, you don’t like that?” we high five and smile that the differences we have only make us appreciate the other more.  We watch the same TV shows and movies, listen to the same music, feel the same way about friends & family, and stress the need for trust more than most.  Every time one of us tries to bring up something to talk about, it’s something the other one has an opinion about and an actual conversation can take place.  It’s such a welcome difference from dates I’ve had in the past.

We just celebrated one month together last night.  I know one month doesn’t sound like a lot to most people, but to us it was special.  We see each other almost every day with very few exceptions, and when we don’t get to see each other for some reason we’re both very disappointed.  When we first started dating he had a limited amount of text messages per month on his cell phone plan; it became evident early on that we wanted to remain in constant contact, and that those limited text messages would never suffice.  He upgraded to unlimited strictly because of me, and it’s a good thing he did.  Already this month we’ve both used over 2000 going back and forth together, and the month is only half over.

We both began the relationship with a number of insecurities, but we’ve begun working through them.  Neither of us actively tries to change the other, but we do work to improve ourselves and make positive change in our attitudes and thought processes.  Both of us are very self-deprecating, but can’t stand it in the other one.  It irks me when he talks down about himself when all I see is someone wonderful, and he tells me the same thing when I talk down about myself as well.  I actually find myself wanting to change for him, not because he’s asked me to, but because I know it will help our relationship.  I’ve never felt this way before, and I don’t believe he has either.

This past month has been great.  Beyond any words I could possibly write down here.  I find myself smiling more.  We have inside jokes that randomly pop into my head and make me laugh out loud for no apparent reason.  I count myself very lucky that I’ve found someone so great, and that he cares about me as much as I care about him.  I carry thoughts of him around with me all day long, and it helps me to be more positive and happy in my day-to-day activities than in the past, and some of my friends have noticed.

We’re in no rush.  We enjoy what we have, and happily anticipate what’s to come for us in the future, but we’ll get there when we get there.  I’m just loving the journey because I have the best companion at my side.