"Surely silence can sometimes be the most eloquent reply."

I feel as if it is time to begin writing again. With that being said, I needed to do some thorough blog-cleaning. Let's start fresh, shall we? I've grown up so much since I first started writing in this blog in 2008. 5 years ago. Wow, how things can change, people can change, opinions can change, and people's paths in life can change. I feel this is a new and very important chapter in my life. I am well into my registered nurse career at a county hospital, with the love of my life of two years now, and living out on my own. I've made a lot of new friends at my job. To say the least, it's my dream job. All the people on my unit are close to my age, love working together, and it has just been a wonderful learning experience. I could see myself staying at this job for a long time to come. I really enjoy being a registered nurse. Sure there are days when I think, 'is this really what I want to do with my life?' but there are also days that completely outweigh those negative thoughts. My coworkers and patients alone give me enough of a reason to go to work three 12-hour shifts a week. Since it is a county hospital in which I work, I get the opportunity to not only work with the general population, but also the homeless, underprivileged, and prisoners from all over the country. It has been a very eye-opening experience, to say the least. I am actually excited to go to work each night (yep, I work the graveyard shift 7pm - 7am). Jeffrey and I have been seriously planning our future together lately. It has always been a point of discussion, but it's getting to be that time now. Two years together. Many ups and downs, but we have both grown tremendously these past few years. I have learned to pick and choose my battles, word my responses a little more tactfully, and just remember what is truly important in the end. Is something petty really worth fighting or arguing over? No. It's incredible and truly humbling. The moment in which the happiness of someone else is more important to you than your own happiness is one of the key components of love, in my opinion. I do many things for myself, but just the opportunity to see a smile etch across his face, the chance to hear his laugh bellow across the room, to see his eyes light up when I enter a room. That is true happiness. Being with Jeffrey and loving him for the rest of my life is something I have always dreamed of -- a big wedding, children, the whole 9 yards. I feel more love in my life now than I have felt in a long time. I am currently in the process of getting my things moved into Jeffrey's apartment. Big step, I know, but I am completely and utterly ready. We act like we live together as it is. There's nothing that brightens my day more than coming home and seeing his big, white smile. My heart belongs to him. Always has and always will. There are many things that have been weighing on my mind lately, but I would like to write about them in separate posts. I'm back, blogger friends, and it feels good. xo