The Start of Us

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So… my girlfriend moved in (!!)

It still doesn’t feel real when I say it out loud, even though we’ve basically been inseparable since the day she got here. We’ve known each other for over half our lives — met as teenagers, drifted, reconnected — one of those right person/wrong time stories that somehow came full circle. You know that invisible thread theory? Yeah. That.

I wish I could say the move-in was smooth, that we were living out our domestic sapphic dreams from day one, but that would be giving us way too much credit. Plot twist: we’re not in our own place yet. I’m renting a room in a shared household, and three days after she moved in… the power went out.

Not a quick flicker. Not a planned outage. I’m talking full blackout — fridge off, fans off, no Wi-Fi, no AC — because our landlord let the power bill go to collections. Thirty-two hours of boiling heat, melting groceries, and wondering if this was some cosmic test of our relationship. We are a three-fan-and-an-air-purifier type of couple. It was a challenge.

But we made it through. No one got dumped in the heat of it all. That’s love, baby.

And can I just say — our cats are coexisting better than expected, too? I was fully ready for a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers arc, but three days in, they were chilling in the same room without trying to murder each other. A week later, we were taking the closet door off to give them more space. I’m not saying they’re besties, but I’m not not saying it either.

What’s been the most surprising, though, is how much she’s gotten me out of the house. It’s not like I didn’t want to explore Saskatoon, but doing it solo never quite hit. Now? We’ve been out nearly every day I haven’t worked. And not just errands — we’re talking street festivals, Broadway Theatre dates, planning for firework shows. I already have half of August booked with date nights. Apparently, this city has way more to offer than I ever gave it credit for.

This week’s been wild — and I know the chaos isn’t over — but I’m genuinely so excited for this new chapter. I feel stretched thin sometimes, juggling it all, trying to find a rhythm in the middle of a storm. But this? Coming home to her, getting pulled outside to see the world, watching our cats figure each other out? It feels like the kind of chaos I’ve been waiting for.

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Here’s to love, blackout survival bonding, and main character summer energy. Let’s see where this goes.

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Still unpacking, still in love, still out here trying not to melt.

xoxo, mj 💋