Mr. Elise and I are about to have a house full of family for a few days.* Yes, I’m thrilled to have visitors. And yes, it will be lovely to connect with them in our home. But this is a curious situation in which Reality, with a capital “R”, intrudes on my reality and the results are jarring, abrasive, and unsettling. 

Jaye Elise lives in a computer, in my mind, in my friends here, and in my readers. “The other one” has to do the day-to-day heavy lifting, she’s the one with the visitors in the house, and she’s the one who can’t be her true self in front of others. 

And so, just like so many before me and so many yet to come—and I imagine many of you, too—I’ll put on my mask. I’ll wear it as long as I have to and not a minute longer. Mr. Elise and I will try to carve out stolen moments to drop our guard and see each other for who we really are. 

We’ll bide our time until our reality becomes the one with the capital “R” again.

*I probably won’t be posting too much either, but I can’t wait to come back and find out what I’ve missed!