Moving day

We're moving today.

Anneka is directing traffic like a general. Our friends are here helping. It's chaotic and happy and full of the kind of human connection I've been starving for.

The new apartment is small but it feels like ours. Already it smells like us. Like the lavender candle Anneka bought and the coffee I made this morning.

This is home. Not because of the walls or the furniture, but because of who I'm sharing it with.

I'm putting away dishes in the kitchen and Anneka keeps sneaking behind me to kiss the back of my neck. Small gestures of affection that add up to something larger.

This is what I was fighting toward. This quiet, ordinary, beautiful life.