One whole year later

I went to Hawaii for a week two days after KC's funeral. His cousin, my good friend, lives out there and she took me back to get away for a little bit. I don't remember very much of that trip, it was a bit of a haze. What I remember most clearly is sitting on her front yard looking out at the ocean on the day before I came home. I was overwhelmed with how beautiful it was, but still so angry that this beautiful ocean would take away it's biggest fan. I was staring out at it for at least two hours, just crying and looking at it. I looked down, then looked up and out to my left and spoke my first words out loud to KC, "Baby, I'm so sorry, and-" just as I started to talk to KC I saw a humpback whale in the water, blew out a big breath and its beautiful fluke on display for what seemed like just me. I was breathless. I don't know that I believe in "signs," but if they are out there, I know that was one of them.

Christmas last year is barely a memory. I kind of remember being at my Aunt and Uncle's house in San Francisco, but don't remember coming or going or even what happened while we were there. It was just another day, sans True Love.

I dreaded Valentine's Day. I thought that would be the day that would ruin me. Until being with KC, I never thought much of the day because I had never been in love. My Valentine's Days with KC were pure magic. The first one, I was working at outback and KC made a HUGE banner with a road sign in yellow; "Baby, Be on Board with me: I Love You!" He brought it into my work with roses and he was all dressed up. He even "hired" our friend Trevor to help him hold up the banner. It was unbelievably darling, and his face was so cute, a perfect amalgamation of love, pride, and a little bit of embarrassment. I still have the banner. Last year i expected to have a horrible day, the kind of day that you can't escape the pain and you think you will never come out of it, but somehow I felt hopeful. I don't know how, or why. But it just didn't sting the way I thought it would. Just another day.

KC's birthday was tough. Mid- April was tough. I went to a bar and ordered a shot of tequila and a Sam Adams. It's what KC would have ordered up for his birthday if he had been there. I stared at the drinks for a long time, tears in my eyes. The man sitting next to me said something like "man, musta been a rough day!" I lost it. just started crying like crazy. He must have been mortified but I didn't care. I apologized, for whatever reason, and told him what I was doing alone in a bar crying and looking at beverages. He was kind and sympathetic. I took a few sips of the tequila, paid for the drinks. I left the waitress a big tip, touched the Sam's bottle and whispered, "Happy birthday, True," and left.

May 3rd was our Anniversary. I invited a few close friends, my sister and brother-in-law to come to Outback to have dinner with me. It was a joyous event, good food and some of my closest people. Lots of memories shared and laughter. It was much better than staying home alone and crying. It was just right.

In June, I visited Santa Barbara for the first time since moving back from there. I drove down there alone, it was not an easy drive. Coming into the city was incredibly tough. Seeing that ocean, I hadn't seen the ocean since Hawaii and it was no easier then. I cried so hard I had to pull over until I could see again. Driving up to KC's dad's house was awful: I had driven up to that house millions of times, seeing KC's truck in the driveway, but seeing it this time was just another reminder that he wasn't there. I walked up and hugged Dave and we cried together. There is so much sadness in that house, where there was once so much love. It continues to break my heart. KC's father has now lost his wife and his son. It just isn't fair.

In July I returned to Santa Barbara with the intentions to spread KC's ashes at the Channel Islands, knowing that is what KC would have wanted. It was a tremendous stress, but something I wanted to do. The ocean, on the other hand, had it's own intentions and we were unable to get out to the Islands due to rough seas. None of us were willing to risk our safety, now more than ever. I know it was the right call, but still have the task of the ashes looming in my mind.

In August, I went to "Camp Widow," in San Diego. It was a conference for widowed folks to meet, network, and find strength in a community of peers who get it. I met some incredible people and the experience let me know that though grief is a lifelong process, there is the possibility to keep moving onward in the journey, and find peace, happiness, and maybe even love, again. It was a beautiful display of empathy and love, something I will never forget.

Thanksgiving this year was one of the hardest days in quite some time. It was the anniversary of KC proposing to me. I barely made it out of my room and into the celebration that was going on. If it weren't for my sister, I don't think i would have come out of my room at all. "Do I have to?" I asked her. She just looked me right in the eye and said, "yes." I hope she knows how badly I needed to hear her say that.

And this past weekend, it has been one year since the day he died. I have now encountered all of the "firsts." And guess what? I am still here. So what, i ran away for the weekend, I don't feel cowardly, I feel strong. I am still desperately sad, but I fucking made it through one year and one day without the man I thought I literally couldn't live without. I feel proud. I feel that KC is proud. I feel like I can tackle tomorrow, my birthday, with joy and love in my heart because I was good enough to be loved by a man like KC. I can celebrate Christmas with my family because I know I can live through it, I have, after all, done it before. I have things to look forward to, the birth of my niece in February especially. I have taken steps to improve my overall physical health and start dedicating myself to mental and physical well-being. I will start taking classes again in January. I will keep working with children on the Autism Spectrum and make a difference in their lives. I will dance again. I WILL love again. That is the most important thing I have learned about myself in the last 366 days: I will love again. Because even in this pain I know that it was worth it. It was worth this pain to have had the love I shared with KC, to be loved the way I was loved. I don't know how or when, but I know it will happen and that will be a gift from KC, for I only know love because of him, and every bit of love I share for the rest of my life, is through and because of him. For that, I am eternally grateful.