The way I am

Saturday morning as I was getting ready for work, THE BOYFRIEND and I were watching this video on a book interview about sharpening pencils.  'Yeah, right' you might say.  "How is there a WHOLE book on sharpening pencils?"  Ah, but there is, and the author is really funny.  Somewhere along the video the professional pencil sharpener has this ... helmet, I guess is the word closest, that has a headlight and a set of magnifying glasses so he can get a good look at the pencil he is sharpening.  THE BOYFRIEND starts to make fun of it.  I jump to it's defense with

"Hey, my father had a set of those for his stamp collection.  They're cool."

THE BOYFRIEND giggles at me and says,

"I finally get why you are the way you are."
"What do you mean?"
"You.  Everything about you just made sense with you defending the thing with the headlight because your dad has one for his stamps."

That wasn't much help, now was it?  Still confused about how my defense of the thing with the magnifying glasses could possibly spell out all of my "mysteries" for him.   Does that make me an "extra special" geek because I dig cool things like a helmet thing with magnifying glasses and a headlamp?  Is it "lame"?  I don't think so.  Maybe he does.  But apparently what he considers "lame" in other people he finds "adorable" in me.  We've had this conversation so many time before.  I do something odd.  He smiles REALLY big.  I say "You're only smiling at me because I'm lame."  He retorts, "No, that is not the only reason why I smile at you.  That is not the reason why I'm smiling at you now."  I've gotten used to the smiling and the giggling from him when I do something odd.  Just one of those things now. 

The Wedding

This weekend, THE BOYFRIEND's sister was getting married in Fort Lauderdale, and of course I came with him.  I was not going to pass this occasion up to see where he grew up, of course, and his mother assumed that I was going to come automatically.  I think it was the time that I spent caring for him when he was sick.  That's all I heard about whenever a member of his family saw or met me for the first part of the weekend, before the wedding happened.  Case in point, his mother's sister:

"You're Joan, Anthony's girlfriend?"
"Yeah, that's me."
"I'm Jennifer, his aunt.  I heard you took excellent care of my nephew when he was sick.  His mother told me that you scored major points for that."
"Ah."

This was BEFORE it was time to get ready for the wedding.  THE BOYFRIEND left to get get dressed with the rest of the groomsmen at the hotel room, leaving me to get ready with the rest of the women.  CRAZY women.  But whatever.  I just stayed out of the way.  But right before we had to leave for the church, the baby needed wrangling into her dress.  THAT was up to THE BOYFRIEND's dad and me, since she seemed to respond to the both of us positively.  Yeah, she wasn't having it.  It was an adorable dress, but really itchy to her I'm sure, beccause all fancy wedding dresses are itchy.  When she is all dressed up, his mother says to me and to everyone in the house,

"She's a keeper.  First taking care of Anthony and now for wrangling the baby.  You're a keeper, Joan."

On the way to the church, the girl I drove with got lost, she told the GPS to go to the reception hall instead of the church.  And at the church, more family members and friends of THE BOYFRIEND to be introduced to me.  Finally met his best friend forever, a girl, and I couldn't help but replay all those best friend romcoms.  You know the ones I mean. Where the guy has a best friend who is female and a girlfriend, then the guy ends up with his best friend because there is really no one else. 

Inside the church and before the big walkdown the aisle, the baby just wasn't cooperating.  Everyone could hear her wail and cry.  So when THE BOYFRIEND's mother came down the aisle she loud whispered to me,

"Joan, go get the kid."

because apparently I'm magic with her.  So, I took care of her throughout the ceremony.  She tried shoving her pacifier into my mouth and taking off my glasses.  So, I took off my glasses and hid them.  She looked so confused.  And whenever she started to look like she was going to get upset and start wailing, I got up and walked around with her.  When the ceremony ended, I gave her to her grandpa, and went out to the truck to get high (because after dealing with the wee baby, I sure as hell deserved it) with THE BOYFRIEND's friends, including the bff.  Then all I got from the family members was how wonderful I was with the baby, for the rest of the night.  Everytime I turned around,

"Oh you did so wonderful with the baby.  Thank you for taking such good care of her during the ceremony."

Blah, blah, blah.  Plus, almost the entire reception THE BOYFRIEND left me alone.  Just up and left me to wonder where the hell he went.   And almost always with his friends to go smoke outside or get a drink, hang out, chit chat.  I chastised him later for it.  I mean, he knows almost everyone there, and I knew about 10 people and could only talk to ... none.  I feel bad for chastising him but he kinda deserved it. 

After the reception, we had to take his bff home over in Davie.  THE BOYFRIEND tried to drive, but ended up pulling over and having me drive.  I asked him three times before we left if he wanted me to drive; see, he had 4 jack and cokes at the reception, plus all that smoking.  I would rather not crash or die, so I took over.  Got us there and back, no problems.  He was surprised that I got us back.  He asked me in the morning how I was able to get here.  I told him that his friend directed me how to get back to Commercial Blvd, and he got me the rest of the way.  We back into the camper, tried to have sex.  It wasn't happening for him, but for me, yeah, I got mine.  That's all I wanted.  He didn't need to cum.  Girl was horny.  I had to claim him as mine, not his friend's.  Can you blame me for getting jealous?  I certainly think not.  Fell asleep after that.  Woke up at about 12:30 a.m. and he was hungover, so we went out to get some food.  Came back, had sex again (this time was more for him than me), fell asleep again watching Billy Connolly's Route 66. 

And that is the first half of my trip to Fort Lauderdale with THE BOYFRIEND.  Hope the rest is better, but the last two days haven't been bad at all, so they can only get better. 

Oh that boy!

THE BOYFRIEND and I went out to see The Wobbly Toms last night.  I really missed seeing them live; and, as an added bonus, the 7 large men of the band (and their instruments, mics and other paraphernalia) were stuffed into a very small corner of the bar.  Hilarious!  I left early so I could get some sleep before work the next morning; he went down to The Tavern.  When he got back home, he was all touchy feely, and I just wanted to sleep.  I curled up against him after refusing the first time, and asked him,

"Why do you love me?"
"I just do love you."
"But why?"
"Because you're funny, you're amazing, and you rock my world."

Rock my world?  Ok, that to me doesn't sound like much of a reason to love someone, to say to this person I want to be with you for as long as possible, to want that person to move with you when you leave the city/state for a better career opportunity, to be willing to sit in the bathroom while they are throwing their stomach contents up.

But I get it.  I mean, THE BOYFRIEND never has had much of a way with words when it comes to his emotions.  His track record with this kind of thing isn't, shall we say 'stellar'.  He loves me; he tells me this all the time in the words he uses, in the way he looks at me, etc.  I rock his world, eh?  Oh, geez.  That boy has got me in his pocket and he doesn't even know it.