Okay, I'm back from my trip. It was really really fun! In fact, I think in the span of 72ish hours, I experienced something approximating happiness for the first time in nearly a decade. I spent a LOT of time on the streets of my hometown just kinda reconnecting with the culture during the day and a lot of time on VC with my online friends in the evening. I don't get to VC much at home because my husband is jealous and gets upset if I talk to them for too long. (more on that later)
Met up with a trans friend I made online about a year ago. We walked around a lot, got food, tried on dresses at the clothes store, and just generally talked about all kinds of stuff. On the first day out, I walked more in heels than I ever have - my feet were so sore, but it was worth it! I kinda wish I could just hang out like that with someone I get along with every day - hell even just "now and again" would be a cut above.
I was, several times, struck completely speechless how pretty she is, too - especially when she was lost in thought. I think she thought I was getting bored, but I was actually just at a loss of words for a moment - whoops.
Met up with my brother and cousin and had a blast with them, too. Talked about life and problems n' such. Funnily enough, despite being such a huge city, most of the people I met were within maybe a 10 minute walk of each other (the last being maybe a 10 min drive). Small world, sometimes.
Each person talked to me about moving back home soon. I'm thinking about it, but the fact that my home state is Republican country doesn't quite make up for the deep blue city. I want to go back, because I felt really happy - but I'm scared of what the future may hold. A little hung up there. I need to decide soon, because my job lets me go in Nov...