Prelude to a First Time

So, after being gone for 13+ months, I suddenly decide that my head is too full to contain the intense amounts of crazy normally stored within its confines. This should come as no surprise to most of the people around me. I haven't quite been the usual "me" lately, and there are probably a million reasons for that; just as probable: I have no reason at all not to be the usual "me," and I need to relax.

It's probably somewhere in between.

I think I will be using this forum again not only because it allows me to share with complete strangers, but also people that matter to me in varying degrees of importance. Not only that, but also because there's nothing like reading this nonsense a week, a month, or as I just did, a year or more later. Making myself cry out loud, laugh out loud, and then cry again, while enjoying a pint of Ben & Jerry's, is a successful blogging experience if you ask me. Which thankfully, no one did, but I answered the call anyway.

I moved to Chicago 10 months and one week ago today. Amazing to me is how in such a short time I have experienced so many "first times." And I know you're wondering: yes, as I write this, I am listening to the Offer Nissim feat. Maya song by the same name. So many first times, that my first official post back will be about the most important few... From the first time I walked to my neighborhood Starbucks, the first time I started a new job and I didn't know someone, to the first time I celebrated Thanksgiving with a boyfriend's family, the first time a man told me he was in love with me (and the first time he told me he wasn't anymore), the first time I realized "I live here now," and the first time I figured out that life really is grand.

So many firsts have happened, that as I sit down to write about them, I can't help but wonder what seconds and thirds are out there. And better yet, the many firsts still to come.