A Place To Draw Blood Laughing

After 3 years together, May and I still go on dates. I used to think that relationships would just work, that the time I spent with my partner would naturally progress from having my life constantly play out around another person. But that’s simply not true.

May and I are both busy, literally, all the time. Even when we don’t have specific projects on specific deadlines, we both have the sort of mind that continually invents work. In his case, it’s usually “personal projects” involving learning a new computer skill or building some new widget. In my case, it’s a story, a painting, a concept insisting to be brought forth. And when we do have specific projects with specific deadlines, they come in spades. I don’t remember the last time I only had one thing on my To Do list.

And although I’d like to think we’re wise enough to notice when we’re distanced from each other, sometimes it takes a few emotional clouts to get us back in the same room together. Then, we go on dates. We schedule time together. It sounds geeky and strange to say, but I think it’s the single best thing we do to keep our relationship whole.

The trouble is, when we plan time together, like we did this weekend, it’s hard to get back to our everyday lives. It feels as though we build a bubble, and then cannot bear to burst it. 

Last night we sat in an empty movie theatre and waiting for The Incredible Hulk to start, and as the 50s oldies played over the speakers, we choreographed a little dance with our feet on the railing. I went to bed last night thinking how full the two days had been, with nothing to work on but each other.