spring break... deja vu

So spring break came and went. The big ? for my time in DC was going to be "what the hell happens with Tenley?" We'd managed to be tremendous when in the same postal code, but she'd also managed to stand me up five times in a row on potential Philly visits. The last one had really started to bug me, and so it was worth wondering how things would turn out.

Didn't start so well. We were supposed to get together Friday night, once I got into town. I left a message for her and she called me while I was on the road to say she wasn't feeling so well and had to cancel. "Great, now she's standing me up when *I* come to see *her*..." Went to a swing dance party instead that night, which turned out well.

So we first saw each other on Saturday, attending the MCSEA meeting. that's right, I said MCSEA meeting. They're back and wanted to meet the alums. Soooo exciting. They seem like a good crowd -- right ideas, hearts are in the right place -- sprogs are going to help them a lot, though, they lack some of the vocabulary we had for thinking about organizing. Anyway, Saturday was alright, and we agreed to spend all of Sunday together.

Sunday was PERFECT. Picked her up around noon, went hiking, went out for lunch, saw a movie, had a semi-fancy dinner... It just felt comfortable and normal, as if we were (believe it or not) a normal couple. And I've had my share of romantic fun, but normal couple things have really never been in the cards. I can honestly say it was more special to me than the MCSEA meeting.

Then, Wednesday night, just before I left for the Training of Trainers in San Jose, we went to dinner with some friends, and afterward she told me she couldn't do this anymore. She's been in a rut for months, and ending things with Chuck really messed with her. It's been our classic problem for some time -- we're great in the present, have too much history between us, and really don't have much of a future.

So that sucked. On the bright side, I can now make the wry comment, "Well, that wasn't the worst end-of-spring-break breakup I've ever head with that PARTICULAR girlfriend." It hurts more than it should, we weren't officially back together, but there was an awful lot of emotion wrapped up in this one. You know, I think Tenley and I have broken up more often than I have with all other women combined. Don't know what that says or means. Figure I'll work it out some other time...