Warmth
My apartment is really starting to feel like home. Still need a couch, but I'm making do for the time being with a camping mattress and some pillows. Last night Henry, Kelsea, Josh, Anneke, Ben, and Bianca came over. I made tilapia and pasta and bread and vegetables and we drank hard cider and champagne. Ben brought over the teeny tiny bottles of alcohol he got for his birthday, and Bianca played teeny tiny bartender, making teeny tiny cocktails in disposable shot glasses. They were minutely tasty.
Ben and I spent the weekend in Seattle. He's been really sweet putting up with me and my family doing the whole Christmas thing. On Saturday he met Don and Nancy and Lianna. Lianna and I told him about how we grew up together, and got out old photo albums to show him.
On Sunday we went to the zoo. I got really excited. We saw the penguins and the orangutans and the saimangs and the komodo dragons and the meerkats and the lions and the tigers and the reptile house and the tree shrew and the armadillo. Ben said his favorite part was watching me being excited.
It makes me so happy that he's willing to be a part of my family. I'm really happy right now. Extremely happy.
On Thursday I'll head up to Seattle to spend the Christmas weekend with my family. I'm so lucky to have such a close-knit family. I'm not anticipating getting anything really amazing for Christmas (except maybe a couch), but being with family, including Javier, will be wonderful. God, I'm just so lucky.
Ben made me a Link hat. Best gift ever.