From "In a relationship" to "Single"

I’m sure you’ve seen this coming, especially if you’ve been reading between the lines--there's been no mention of beloved boyfriend Mike lately.  Long-term readers know it’s been a tumultuous ride from day one and the people in my inner circle have hardly been able to keep track of whether we're on or off.  Whenever I tell them we broke up, they roll their eyes and say, "Yeah, right" because inevitably we'd be on again, sooner or later.  This time, however, I think we've reached the end of the line.  I wouldn't be announcing it otherwise.

I can’t be airing my dirty laundry and certainly Black Ops wasn't the only problem, but was it weight on the scales? Absolutely.  We didn't split due to lack of love, that's for sure.  I've always said, Mike is awesome.

This is funny. I actually moved all my stuff out of Mike’s house and into Linda Land the first week of May, and in a huff. I was pissed as hell over something, dramatically yanking clothes from the closet and dumping my shit into suitcases, swearing my head off and I mean with those curse words you reserve for special occasions.

At that point my iPhone dinged, signaling I had an email.  With a pounding heart and my blood pressure a thousand over a million, I saw it was a Facebook message from a woman I’d never met, but who had read my book.  Every so often I hear from readers, mostly women, who write to tell me how much they admire me and how brave and together I am, and how they wish they could be more like me.  This was one of those messages.

HAHAHAHA!!!   The timing couldn't have been more perfect.

A couple of days later I got a similar message from another woman.  Again, it cracked me up.  I'm sleeping on a blow-up bed in a one bedroom apartment watching Netflix on my iPhone and I'm your hero???  Aim higher, sister!

Since then I did buy a TV, but I'm not sure I want to give up the air mattress.  It's one of those blow-up beds that's about a foot off the floor and actually, I don't mind it. Plus you know me--I'm a minimalist and I'm not sure I can commit to a big, bulky bed right now.  There are a lot of unknowns in my life.  My lease here is up next month and though fortunately my job has been extended to the end of September, it doesn't look like it will last beyond that point.  So who knows where life will lead?  It's an adventure.

Oh, who am I kidding?  I love Linda Land and I love Las Vegas.  No doubt I'll renew my lease for at least another six months and hope to find a training job or another telecommuting tech writing gig like I have now.  It'll all work out.

I should add that since I moved out in May, Mike and I have been on and off (mostly off).  We remain on good terms.  I'll spare you the typical "We wish each other the best" press release statement.  God knows we've broken up a million times before, but I do believe this time it's gonna stick.  I could be wrong, but in the meantime, I'm moving forward. 

Damn.  After two and a half years, I'm back to holding in my stomach.