questioning the future. and my sanity.

I must be going insane. I want to tell eric I love him already! it's been like 12 seconds since we started our relationship, and I want to go There??! is this normal? god, I don't know.

the thing is, I really don't know if my feelings are for real or if I'm just having a good time and want to impulsively blurt out 'I love you.' I can't help it, though; I want to say it all the time. I have to catch myself constantly. I don't even know how he'd respond, or if he's just waiting for me to say it first, or what.......? uggggggghhhh

last night was kristin's wedding. it was really beautiful. she looked incredible, they look so happy, and almost everything went picture-perfect smoothly. eric was my date, and he was wonderful. I spent a lot of time dancing, which meant that he spent a lot of time hanging out by himself, but he didn't seem to mind. everyone wanted to meet him, everyone was asking about him, and I was put on the hot seat about 12900 times to explain his presence.

the truth is, I think that he's going to be around for a long, long time. I've been trying to take a moment here and there to review just how I feel about him and us. sylvia really likes him, my mom and tim both say they have great vibes about him, brittany and jeremy like him...I don't know what to say or do in response to all of this! I mean, I don't look for approval, and I've never asked anyone what they thought (maybe one or two people). kristin, in the midst of all her wedding shenanigans, made it a point to say to me "he's soooo cute!" jill thinks he's a great man, dave seems to like him.....

but how do I feel. how do I feel?

I've found that I'm coming to the crossroads that I don't think I've been to before: I love him, or I choose to love him.

so, he's quirky. he's cute, but not call-all-your-girlfriends cute. he's a little needy, but not overwhelmingly so. he's 30 and has been a bachelor, so he comes with all that boy baggage. he says 'I'm sorry' a lot. he drinks almost every night. he's a little whiny.

but he's malleable. he's smart, fun, a loving soul. his friends have separately told me that he's a great guy. he has an education and aspirations to be something better. we can talk about english-y stuff. he writes!! he loves and appreciates family. he used to be an athlete. he owns a house. he adores me, tells me I'm beautiful, and I feel beautiful when I'm around him. I never felt that way when I was with steven.

I've (sort of) tried to talk to eric about some of this, but he's not one for a titling anything. he thinks it's unnecessary. I have to agree with him partway, but I need something tangible to try and understand. this - we - don't make any sense yet. is he my boyfriend, is he a man friend, are we serious, are we just having fun...?

another issue I try not to concern myself too much with is the fact that he (nor I) have really divulged info about past loves - or our sex past. yes, we've talked about getting our hearts broken and we've talked about people we've loved in the past, but there's more to it than that. I guess we don't necessarily need to, but I'm curious all the same.

the fact is, I'm giving myself the opportunity to be (overly) analytical because I don't feel like taking these big, huge, painful chances again at age 24 or 25. I'm not old, but I'm too old not to learn from some of my mistakes. I don't have to perpetuate my self-destructive behavior. the grass is not always greener, and bad boys will always be bad. I have to tell myself until I believe it that the guys I think might be interested are likely not - they're simple creatures, these males. if they want something, they'll let me know. if they don't, then it's not gonna happen. the end.

anyway, I suppose I'm telling myself to be ok with one person for now. I can imagine marrying eric. I think about the future a lot. I want to fast forward and see what'll happen in a year or two from now. like, what kind of ring would he get me? when would we be able to move in together? where would I put all my stuff??

so here I sit, wondering and waiting. waiting and wondering. hoping that whatever and whenever time will tell, I'll be listening.