Continued...

Okay, so I have a bit of an addendum to that last post. (Thanks to Jen and LD for the comments; you guys really made me feel better, like maybe I don't sound that crazy!) See, I've been reading a little about Reiki, healing, and similar experiences on the Internet, and that made me remember some of the things that happened in the early weeks of Aphrodite's and my relationship. They've sort of tapered off lately (is that normal? anyone know?) but a lot of really weird things happened to us in the beginning.

1) Last December (2006), one month after we got together, Christmas break rolled around. Not only did I have to go home and leave Aphrodite (since my parents didn't know about us), but on the first day of my vacation, I had to go with my family to Alabama for a cousin's wedding. Aphrodite had a huge final that day for one of her accounting classes, and was spending the day studying in our apartment, alone.

I felt fine for most of the morning, as we started our journey, but around ten -- the time Aphrodite usually wakes up -- I started to feel sick, nauseous and headachy. That was unusual for me; I'm a competitive athlete and rarely get sick. The symptoms continued all day, during our travels and arrival at the hotel. I refused all food and went straight to bed -- but then couldn't sleep. I finally dropped off for about a half hour, then was awakened by my mother to get dressed for the ceremony. I was literally feeling too weak to move, and when my dad made me stand in front of him so he could pin up a fold of my dress, the room started to go black in front of me and I had to grab for a chair and sit down. This was completely out of character for me; I've never passed out in my life.

Mom put a cold washcloth on my face and neck, forced me to eat some crackers and put my feet up, and made me sit outside in the breeze. I took deep breaths, thought about Aphrodite's arms around me and how she'd hold me if she were there, and eventually started to feel just barely good enough to go to the ceremony. We got there just in time. I didn't feel well, but at least I wasn't passing out -- and I did gradually feel better and better as the evening rolled on.

Finally, at the reception, Aphrodite called, exhausted but relieved -- she'd just finished her three-hour final. That was when things started falling into place for me. I asked how her day had gone, and she launched into telling me about her hours of uncontrollable tears, panic attacks, fears about the exam, missing me, etc. "I knew it was going to be hard, but I still wouldn't normally get so upset over trying to study for an exam -- but I was literally on the floor bawling my eyes out," she said.

Ding ding ding! I have no idea whether her emotions caused my physical symptoms or the other way around, but it seems clear that they were related -- I never get sick, and she never panics to that degree over exams, and yet the time frames matched up. I got worse and worse until around the time she started taking her test, then felt gradually better as she progressed farther through it, and felt one hundred percent fine once it was over and she was on the phone with me -- and her emotions followed the same map. We were both a little awed by the strength of our connection -- and dismayed that we had two weeks to go before we'd be together again.

2) Here's a second example. Aphrodite's mother is an alcoholic, and although she's learned how to accept her and deal with her now that she's older, one of her old professors (I'll call her Gaia -- 'Mother Earth') has filled that 'Mom' role for her in a lot of ways. She treats Aphrodite like a third child, and the two of them go through the same mother-daughter ups and downs ("she doesn't understand me!") as any pair. Last January, about two months into our relationship, Aphrodite was vacillating over whether or not to tell Gaia about us. She was 'almost positive' she would be perfectly okay with it; she was just incredibly nervous to actually say the words. Aphrodite had dated the same man for four years while at college, even getting engaged to him, and she wasn't sure how Gaia would react to such an about-face.

So one day back then, Aphrodite was going to see Gaia, who lived 30 miles away from us at the time (we hadn't moved to our one-bedroom yet). She hadn't reached a decision on whether or not to try to broach The Subject, planning to just 'take it as it came' and see what kind of mood she was in. I was sitting at home, totally absorbed in my Mayan hieroglyph homework, my mind one hundred percent focused on the task at hand -- when I suddenly slapped my pencil down and sat straight up in my chair. It felt like someone had banged me on top of the head. "Oh my God," I said out loud, "she's telling her right now!"

Unable to concentrate, I got up and paced around the apartment, picking things up and putting them down, grabbing the phone and then making myself drop it, telling myself that I didn't want to interrupt such an important moment. I was in agony, but also absolute certainty. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before -- me, the so-called cynic, skeptic, atheist, what-have-you -- but I knew, absolutely knew that I was right.

Ten minutes later, I got a three-word text message, undoubtedly an opportunity snatched while Gaia's back was momentarily turned: 'she knows omg'.

Over the next 20-30 minutes (as the conversation progressed...) I felt the nervousness begin to ebb, but still couldn't focus -- until Aphrodite called me to give me all the details and say that Gaia had been absolutely wonderful, that she wanted to get to know me better, that it couldn't have gone more perfectly, etc.

These are just two of the larger experiences in a whole series of shared connections that happened over those first few months. But what I want to know is, why have they stopped? Is it because our lives have gotten so much busier (we're both working) and we don't have as much time to focus on each other? Or because the 'newness' has worn off somehow? Or is there another explanation?

Hey, another little tidbit just crossed my mind too, in light of my new job: for as long as I can remember, children have always been drawn to me (and I to them). I sit down somewhere and they just come to me. If I'm in a room with a child for any length of time, s/he almost always comes over to me and tries to make contact somehow (we often end up playing). Is there something special about kids? Are they more 'open' somehow, can sense energy more readily or something? Or is it just coincidence?

Thanks in advance for any ideas, suggestions, sympathies, shared experiences, or whatever you have to offer. This is all really new for me, and I'm eager to learn from anyone who's been there!