24

24 was my first birthday in my new house. A few weeks before, Nate and I had gone on a date and had to run to a store for something and had seen this tall kitchen table that we fell in love with. We sat at it and talked for a few hours til the store closed and they kicked us out. Well he surprised me and bought the table for me for my birthday. We celebrated at the Bumbaughs. A few weeks later, I knew what I needed to do. Again I had fallen in love with someone who I knew was not a good match for me. Nate was wonderful, but I knew that my sensitive spirit that I have battled to keep throughout life would be killed in the process of a life together so I ended it. Melanie came home that Christmas and it was a much needed distraction from the saddness in my heart. I told Nate when we broke up that one of the saddest things to me was going to be losing his friends and he said he still wanted me to be friends with them. So I did and they have been the best thing to ever come out of one of my dating relationships. Actually Michelle and I coined ourselves the "sneaky snakes" because while Nate and I were dating, and then still afterwards we would have all kinds of secret adventures. She was always WAY better at not telling on ourselves than I was. : )

That spring I spent alot of time with the Bumbaughs and also with Maria. She was planning her wedding and I was in the wedding and so we had lots of fun planning and watching reality tv and dreaming about our futures. Lane also decided to apply at dental schools on the East Coast to be close to me and then when he didn't get into them (it is CRAZY competitive) he got a job and requested the east coast region. He came to visit several times during the search period and then when he would travel through for his job.

I meanwhile got a part time job at a coffee shop called Big Oak Cafe and loved it and the new friends I made especially Josh and Biz(zle). We had so much fun together.

That summer Kris Cole moved into the downstair apartment of my house. We had so much fun being roommates. We had always been good friends and it was nice having someone else in the house, especially someone who knew me so well. We both had so much going on that year that it was wonderful having a best friend living in your house to be a support. Also, we loved watching CSI together, but usually ended up hiding under blankets because it was just too scary. Also, having Kris move in meant that we had Wesley as an honorary housemate and they loved to tease me when we would all be sitting watching Myth Busters and I would pull out my knitting needles.

That Thanksgiving Ryan came to visit me. We hadn't seen each other in awhile and we spent the afternoon catching up and I had forgotten how much he made me laugh. He had moved to Rochester, NY, and was trying to get his life back on track. After he went home, he contacted me again and asked if he could come back to see me the next week for my birthday. Of course I was so excited to get to see him again and it was fun having Kris and Wesley get to meet him. The 2nd night he was there, after everyone else had gone to bed, finally the truth came out that he had liked me for years and I finally was able to admit to myself that I had always felt the same way about him, but had hidden it from the first day because the timing had been so off. What surprised me was how deeply I cared for him. Never in my life has a person so known me that they already knew what I was thinking, feeling, or how I would react before I even did. Never before had someone protected me so fiercely as he had.