Forever On My (Other) Doorstep

The last few weeks were more or less my personal idea of hell on earth. Too blunt? Perhaps, but I don't know how else to explain it. Dad (Tumbleweed) now has issues with his kidneys on top of all the other symptoms (some of which, it seems, I'm still learning about). All the symptoms point to an autoimmune disorder. Why don't they treat for that, you ask? Good question. The answer is because there are just so frikkin many of them, they don't know where to begin treatment until they can narrow it down. So, much like with the common cold, we are treating symptoms- except on a much larger scale. Lymph nodes swollen near his pancreas, vertebrae sticking out at awkward, painful angles, kidneys putting out far too much of a hormone/chemical of some sort, blood sugar going wacky from a medication, extreme fatigue, digestion problems, a severe form of watermelon stomach, so we cauterize, medicate, etc, etc, etc...
Meanwhile, back at post, I've been moved between 3 units, finally getting to The Big House, where I was supposed to be the whole time, trying to in-process and in-process again, until finally someone got me where I was supposed to be from the jump. My unit is great, though I'm a tad bit out in the wind right now with everything.
A friend of mine, who I'll call Kid (short for Billy The Kid, which is a nickname that I'm happy to realize really does suit him) has extended the offer to my father and I to stay in his two extra bedrooms until the Army gets off it's hiney and helps us get on our feet. I am at Kid's house now. Kid is 38, and has never been married or had children, though he owns his own (very nice) home. Pool in the back yard, and, all around, I really love this house. It's very masculine, as one might assume, but it's a temporary place, and I'm so grateful to not have to worry about emergency loans or Tumbleweed being homeless, that I couldn't care less where I was staying, though I am thoroughly pleased to have a place such as this to be.
Bright Eyes and I have been through quite a bit. My stress level and the bazillion and three changes in my life have left the plans he and I had made completely unhinged. We don't know when we'll see one another again, and it looks as though we may have to wait until the end of the school year (Miss Angel Eyes turns the big 5 on Monday, and begins school shortly there after) before he can move down here with me. I love him and I miss him dearly, and am so incredibly eager to see him again... I digress. He has put up with my storm and trying to give up and I'm honestly not sure how in the world he survives me. Dealing with my temper is a hard thing to do, but dealing with me hanging up, yelling, and threatening long-distance, when, truly, the majority of it was my own frustration, rather than anything he had done or said, well, that takes.... I don't know. Insanity? He loves me. Whether or not I like the way he handles me sometimes (like not calling back after I hang up on him- what's that about?!) he's survived me, and he still loves me, and he works so hard to make that very clear. I can't help but feel like I don't deserve someone so patient, but I know in my heart that I'm not going anywhere. After about a month of being on opposite sides of the country, I still know, without a doubt, that this is the man that I will spend the rest of my life with. Lord knows I tried to walk away, but how do you walk away from someone who just stands there, quietly, never budging, with that look in their eyes that says 'Go pitch your fit, I'll still be right here when you're done.' It's absolutely maddening for someone like me!!! I can push and push and push and he just stands there like a mountain, looking down at a bulldozer, as if to say 'Well, now, is that all you've got? You'll have to do better than that.' There's a line in an Eminem song, off of his new album, that says 'I guess that's what happens when a tornado meets a volcano'. THAT is what I'm used to. I'm used to a double-explosion, a wild clash of the elements. If this is a clash of the elements, it's fire against rock- I don't stand a chance.

Whether or not this is the passionate, intense, insane whirlwind romance I dreamed about (it's not), it is exactly what I need.

There! *looks up at the sky, shaking her fist* I said it! Are you happy now? I know you know what I need better than I do? Can you stop pointing this out to me now?! PLEASE?!

Everything will be okay, but it's all going to take some time.
The paperwork for Dad can take up to three months to process. I'll be sending it all off on Monday, once I have certified copies made of all the paperwork they want.

It's nice to be closer to the Baha'i center. I went to Feast for the first time Thursday evening. I met most of the folks in our community that I hadn't met yet, and I was really happy to meet them. They are truly wonderful people. Ruhi books seem to be going to the wayside for me, lately, as I'm only on Book 1, and have been so overwhelmed with everything, I just haven't been making it regularly. I am going to make an honest effort to get more involved with the center, but I've been so worn out lately, that I also need to make sure I'm taken care of. I've barely been sleeping, and skipping meals regularly to ensure I get everything done. Everything, of course, being limited to things that the Army wants/needs or that I need to do for Tumbleweed, or helping out some of the younger Soldiers who haven't been through these things yet. I used to get pedicures weekly in Korea- I haven't gotten one in the month and a half since I left there. (Has it really only been a month and a half?!)

Anywho, there's the rundown. More to follow. I love you, Bright Eyes!