Since my last trip, a lot has happened, yet simultaneously, not a lot has happened.
On February 29, I met Brandy. Her and I have so much in common, but yet we are such completely different people. I quickly realized though that this is a woman that I am madly in love with. She brings out the best in me and for that, I am forever thankful.
Shortly after we met, things took a turn and the COVID-19 outbreak shut the entire country down. The community in which she lives is not commonly accessible to civilians… OK, she lives on Kirtland Air Force Base. Once the COVID outbreak hit, the base was locked down to visitors so it was impossible for me to go to her spacious 3 bedroom house with a yard and plenty of room for Ash to run around. We were already at the point where we couldn’t stand being away from each other so she instead essentially moved in with me during the quarantine.
Her and I were both working from home so we were pretty much around each other, 24/7, and with everything shut down, we were feeling cooped up in my tiny 2 bedroom apartment with no outdoor space for Ash. We took a couple of day trips up to the Jemez and the Sandias, just to try to maintain a little sanity, but that only lasted while we were gone. We’d come home and find ourselves immediately steeped in cabin fever again.
One day, Brandy brought home some paperwork for me to fill out to get my own permanent pass to be able to get onto the base. I filled it out, she submitted it, then told me to put in my 30 day notice at my apartment on May 1. So I did. I will be moving in with Brandy by the end of this month.
In the meantime, Brandy brought me down to the base to try to obtain a temporary, 2 week pass. I got the pass and am now free to come and go as I please, at least, for the next 2 weeks. I only hope my permanent pass comes in before the temp pass expires…
I will have packing to do… again… and moving that’ll need to be done… again… but it will be well worth it. I spent the first night in a while at Brandy’s (our) house and I could not be more relaxed. We sat outside most of the night, had some drinks, listened to music, talked… It was phenomenal. The stress lifted and I am at peace now and am ready to start the rest of my life with Brandy.
I’m writing this from the expansive kitchen of my new home while my love sleeps peacefully in our bedroom and Ash lounges on the sofa in our roomy living room. Just behind me is a door to the ample back yard where I will soon retire with a fresh cup of coffee.
The Keurig is done. Gotta go.
-Phil