The calm before the storm...

Is my title too cliché? Perhaps. But that is exactly how I feel. Today is the day before I embark on a new chapter in my life. Tomorrow is my last day at work. My last day living in Vancouver. And my first official night living in small town Washington, USA. Tomorrow, I leave behind everything I have known for 27 years.

Tomorrow, I move to the burbs.

I can't really begin to explain how this feels. I'm guessing it hasn't really sunk in that I am, in a sense, exchanging my fabulous single life in Vancouver, BC, to be with my boyfriend of 1 year. We are moving in together. "We", can be considered a loose term on this site. For example, when most new couples refer to "we", they are usually pointing the finger at themselves and their partner. When I say "we", I will (from this point on) be referring to myself, my partner and his 3 kids. It's at this point that I usually receive the "woah....that's crazy talk, girl!" look. Believe me. I know. I wake up in the morning, mozy on over to my bathroom mirror and mumble those exact words to myself.

The truth is, I am scared shitless. No exaggeration. I have no idea what to expect. For the past year we have been commuting back and forth on weekends to see each other. With a 5 day break between visits, we managed to keep the "honeymoon" stage alive for quite awhile. We're still there. But now this...now I'm moving, and will be with him nearly every day.

The kid's primary residence is with their mother, but who knows what that means. I get the feeling that they will be over at our place a lot. And you know what? I have no problem with that. But I do forsee some (ok, a lot) of challenges that will be coming my way. I already have a list of questions that I'm asking myself constantly.

1) Are you on crack?
2) How are you going to find time to develop a relationship with a man who has 3 kids?
3) Are you going to be able to cope with his kids and his ex-wife?
4) You grew up as an only child...are you ready to be hit the ground running - living in a home with 4 other people?

I decided to start a blog so that I could keep a diary of my, in-progress, answers to these questions. I welcome comments, emails, and suggestions. It helps to know I am not alone in this. Hell, it helps to just be heard.

So here it is.

The beginning.