Day 6: What new things came into your life this year, and what effects did they have?

There have been few truly new things in my life this year.  Sure, new electronics, new contracts for work, new software, new games, new books, new foods, new places... But those things don't change the status quo.  They're the same new things as last year, and the year before that.

I did gain a brother-in-law, but that wasn't so new a thing as it might seem.  While the title may have been new, he'd already been part of the family for years.  Any lasting effect my sister's wedding had on me had less to do with the marriage itself, and more to do with crystalizing the family dynamics of those of us in attendance.  Seeing relatives I hadn't seen in a year, or longer, having to be around my mother's distain and condescension... Family lines drew themselves in indelible ink, and it has never been more clear how much I am my father's daughter and not my mother's.

The other new thing I've already talked about.  I don't want to run on at the mouth about him, because I don't want to seem like a silly little school girl with a crush.  But of everything, OBF and the things around him, have had the most effect on me.  There's all the wonderful things I've already mentioned, of course.  There's other wonderful things too: the additional love and support through hard things, that make them easier; the days spent with him, lives integrating in meaningful ways; table top RPG's with him and his friends; having him take me to my first film shoot, and discovering that I'm actually useful on a set (with my clothes on, for once); being encouraged to write, to be artistic, and be creative... I even eat breakfast now, every day, at his request.

There have been not so great things too.  The added stress from trying to juggle logistics, for one.  The struggle to get decent time together alone.  The pain, and angst, over difficulties with his wife, and the emotional flashbacks that all triggers for me.  I know I'm being vague.  I just don't feel it's fair to try and explain all that here, in a single post.  The effects have been far reaching, though, and harshly so despite my glossing them over.

But the good far outweighs the bad, for me.  And I'm much happier than I have been, in a long while, because of it.