A Life of My Own

Two of our closest  friends are getting married. They've been together for nearly 15 years, and have two amazing children together. Calling them friends will never encompass what they really are to us. It's not an exaggeration to say we're closer to them than to either of our families. My in-laws are some of my favorite people, so that is a pretty high bar.  Today, I had the opportunity to take the bride to pick out a wedding perfume. It was my idea to buy this for her, and I was surprised by how excited she was about it. She had her youngest child with her, who's a brilliant, funny and independent three year old.  We spent four hours looking for the right perfume, and fought off many, many, M A N Y sales associates. (I'm never going into another Dillard's as long as I live- we literally snuck out of there while being pursued by sales people!) My disabilities have prevented me from doing something like this for a long time. My partner didn't join...

I went to Cousin's birthday cookout the other day, which is the second time I've seen her now, as well as her oldest daughter and Cousin's partner.  This time, I also met the youngest of her 3 daughters, as well as both of her partner's daughters.  Cousin's brother showed up, which was just incredible, honestly. Boy Cousin has always just been this incredible rock of calmness, and I'm kind of astounded to see that so clearly again. Before seeing him again after all this time, I told my partner that I finally realized who Boy Cousin reminded me of, and it's my partner's former roommate, who I clicked with literally within seconds of meeting. They're far from being the same person, but they're both safe people for me in a way that's beyond words. Soul Family is probably how I would best describe that, though I'm sure that's less than helpful to most.  Boy Cousin is just good for my soul. He and his sister have both been amazing about se...