Sorta' funny, that another thing occurred to me to say here now, after the main post.
My dad was talking to my old coworker at the charity I used to work at (and am still trying to recover from, financially - God, but I hate charities now). The coworker is this Portugese guy named Paulo, who took over from me. (He's now the manager of the Computer Processing department, which means that he organizes computers to be built and sent off to random third world countries.)
Anyways, Paulo (the new manager) talked to my dad, asking him what he thought of my girl and myself, and you know what my dad said in response?
"Oh, he's just working on his marriage."
I found that absolutely hilarious at the time, and it quickly became a running joke between my girlfriend and I.
However, within the last few month or so, I've realized that he's right. I AM working on my marriage, strange as that may seem (both to me and to those who know me). I plan on spending my life with this girl, and she's planning on the same. It's not that I can imagine life without her, it's that I CAN imagine life without her, and god damn it... sure I would be fine, but I wouldn't be happy, and neither would she.
The other thing that I realized is that, for the first time, my parents' opinion about this really matters. They approve of it, they approve of her as my girlfriend, and my dad's said that he will (when the time comes) approve of her as my wife.
The third thing I realized?
This relationship really matters, because... well, because I'm head over fucking heels in love with her. I don't feel "silly" or "stupid" when I profess my love for her in front of friends, acquaintances, or internet message boards. I feel sorta'... proud, 'cause it's HER that I'm in love with, even while I'm standing there telling someone that I love her and start crying. (So much for being a "tough guy," eh?)
Jeebuz Christ... and I'm not even a wreck.
And I'm actually really, truly happy.
Guys... you need to find someone who you can rave about, like this.
