American Dreaming – 1990’s / Part XX

Well, the meeting in Buffalo went well to say the least. I met this woman and we found that we enjoyed each other’s company greatly. I was falling in love again.

The first meeting was followed in close proximity to a second meeting which was an overnight stay in Pittsburgh. After that, we became inseparable. I was officially in a relationship that was wonderful. I had never met someone as caring, affectionate and giving as the wonderful lady.

She was a foster mom for mentally and physically disabled kids in Detroit. She cared for three when I first met her. Of the three, one of them a male kid, was abusive to himself and others. He was certainly a handful to care for. She seemed to have an infinite well of patience and caring for these poor souls. It was her living but, she was also getting burned out from this responsibility that was truly a 24/7/365 job. She had hired a couple of folks to assist with the care of these individuals but, she was the constant force in the household.

We maintained a long distance relationship for well over a year before she decided that she wanted to move to New York. She had made the decision that she wanted to leave the foster care responsibilities after one of her girls had moved out and the other had sadly passed away. She worked with the childcare services of the State of Michigan to place her remaining child with a new home and moved east.

We discussed the move and it was decided that there were going to be no ties because of her move. She was going to maintain her own apartment and get a job. It was going to be an apartment within the same complex as the one I was currently inhabiting but, separate and with “no strings”. I was still stinging from my busted marriage and was wary of entering into anything that resembled that. I think we both stated those fears but, we also cared for one another deeply and truly.

I had never been in a relationship with a woman that was so easy and required so little work. We never seemed to argue, if one of us felt strongly enough about a particular view or decision it seemed the other basically said…”Okay.”

My new love officially moved in with me within the first year she was in New York. That year was 1998. I was in love for sure.