Home again, home again, jiggety-jog.

I have completed the day-by-day log of my trip. You can find them here: Day one; Day two; Day three; Day four.

Everyone at work asked me about my trip. I gave them the abbreviated version. Despite my melancholy today, I did have a lot of fun on this trip.

This was the fourth time Dave and I had seen each other. True, they are at least a few days at a shot each time, but it just doesn't feel like it's enough. Whenever the time comes to part ways, the ache gets worse.

I thought it was bad the first time. We had been talking online for over a year, and had gradually gotten to know each other fairly well. We exchanged pictures, and talked almost every night. He drove down in July so that we could go to Anthrocon together. I told him flat-out that he shouldn't expect anything, and that I don't buy anything without looking at the merchandise first.

So I was totally unprepared for how quickly I fell for him.

We had almost a week together that first time. We were both rather nervous about everything, but I could feel my feelings for him deepening every day. When he left, I was in tears.

He flew down a month later. We had four days together that time, and it was wonderful. I spent almost every waking (and sleeping!) moment with him. What's really surprising is that I didn't get sick of him. I tend to value my "private time," and I had practically none while he was here. It didn't matter.

When he left, I sat in my car in the airport parking deck and cried.

He drove down again in September. This visit was not good, since I had to work while he was here. We would wake up, I would rush off to work, and he was on his own for most of the day. He did meet my parents, though. My mother said, "He's a lot like you, but with less hair and a Canadian accent."

When he left, I was in shock. It seemed like he had just arrived, and he was leaving already! I curled up on the couch and cried myself to sleep.

And then there was this trip.

The pain is even greater.

I love him so much, though. The pain is worth it. The times alone are hard, but bearable. The times I am with him are wonderful.

"Love bites." Now I know what that song meant.