Jamie's POV
Sean always seemed to be in candy land whenever we talked about how his day went. I like how animated he gets when he mentions all the innovations he’s seen at the expo. It only runs for a week and there are a lot of exhibitor booths to visit.
His schedule for the second week was to tour school labs and then this trip ends with his presentations. I’m proud of what he is accomplishing in his field. He’s great at what he does and so passionate about creating mechanisms that will not only address the current need for automation and efficiency but would still incorporate “human touch” in the process.
Although he’s in another country, he doesn't really seem to be that far away, we never miss our daily morning routine or to check on each other constantly. Part of our usual is to send songs that remind us of or contain a message for each other.
Music has been one of my sanity’s saving graces. Those 3 to 4 minutes of melody, lyrics that get to you as if the artist/songwriter is the representative of your emotions and thoughts, are lifelines. When there’s no one to talk about what you’re feeling or thinking, these songs are the best companies.
That has been the case ever since. I can get and do have sessions at the clinic too and I know I have reliable friends and family to talk about these things. They will always be there for me no matter what but there are times that you cannot particularly tell them certain issues and concerns because you feel like you don’t want to burden them. We know that they too have their own concerns to manage so we process our thoughts on our own at times and we figure out which best outlets to siphon them aside from having these conversations.
We got to have those good outlets in our lives too so that we do not simmer in our thoughts and get consumed by it. For me, it’s usually yoga, reading, music - a lot of them, and my constant journaling. These are necessities on the daily.
Then there is Sean who is such a refreshing and welcomed addition in my life. I couldn't be more thankful. He’s beginning to be one of those strong anchors that I know I can always rely on when I need to be steadied. I promised myself that I will be that for him too.
It’s been more than a week since he’s been away. I miss him.
“Good morning! 😘 Listen to this on your way to the campus lab!” I sent him a link to “Someone Special” by Anna of the North.
“If you wake up alone in the morning
Clouds lay heavy on your head.
And the rain starts to fall without warning
Don’t you know, I’ll always be right there”I got a reply from him after a few minutes, I know he listened to the song first. He’s always like that.
“I know you are. 😘 I am and will always be grateful that you’re in my life. Good morning! And.... I miss you too.”
How did I get this lucky?
“You get brownie points for reading into that. 😍 But yeah, I miss you.”
“I wonder how many brownie points I already have?”
“HAHA! I don’t keep count so you gotta do it yourself. 😛”
“Hmmm 🤔…. maybe I should! I might need those points for certain rewards I want to claim one of these days.”
Now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s still early in the morning.
“😁 I’ll get you those milk tea with pearls that you’re soooooo passionate about, when you get back.”
“I’ll take you up for it! 😄 You promised, don’t take it back!”
“Promise! Are you done preparing?” He’s presenting today, one of two presentations he has to do.
“Yeah, I’m just waiting for the rest of the team to be here. I’m done eating breakfast too. I asked one of the hotel staff to take a picture of me and told them I needed one for my girlfriend to show her that my limbs are all intact. HAHAHA! How do I look? 😎”
“😍 You look like my dashing boyfriend.” I helped him pick that suit when he was packing.
“That’s funny, 😏 I know I look better than that guy. Let me just find a good mirror somewhere to confirm. HAHA!”
“Tell that guy in the mirror to come home soon! You look like someone who’s going to impress a lot of people today. I’m so proud of you. 😘 Call me when your presentation is done okay? I want to hear all about it.”
“I will. I must be so nervous for today’s presentation that I got to the lobby earlier than everyone else. 😵 What are you doing now?”
“I’m still eating breakfast. To calm your nerves…” I sent him a selfie that’s so opposite of the picture he just sent me.
“Buuuut that actually did not help. My heart just skipped a beat…”
“That’s just soooo cheesy! But okay for you, I’ll take it. HAHAHA! Nah, it’s still cheesy, I’m cringing as I type this. 😂”
“Okay fine. 😓 I’ll stop. It IS kinda cringey... Hahaha! ✌”
Exchanges like this with him, though sometimes cringey - which we both know, are always welcomed. They actually make me feel those emotions that have long taken a back seat because of my inability to sustain relationships before.
“Good! Glad we’re on the same page. 😎”
“They’re here. I gotta go…. 😏 Have a great day and be safe!! I’ll call you when we’re done. 🤗”
“Good luck!! 💋”
After about two hours, he called me to share what happened. He was very elated by the result of the presentation and some of the attendees were interested in joint research with their team. If this works out, he would have his data cross referenced and then get his research done in no time. He’d graduate without a hitch. There’s one more left after that they have free time going around the city to enjoy and then he returns home.