A DAY IN "THE LIFE OF RILEY"

As Anthony is adjusting to New York City and New Jersey anew, he is stretching daily to have powerful results show up in his life around his career; his friends and family; his finances; and our relationship, which includes his support of me in turning this not-so-fabulous living space into something we can not just live in comfortably but be proud of as well. I've spent lots of years as a bachelor who travels extensively with my work. To that end, I'm almost conditioned to be too exhausted to do home improvements; clean up (I do have a maid that would do that piece); organize/build suitable closet space (for myself and now two people). As long as the VCR (and eventually the TIVO) are up and running, I seem to be content and not really looking at that piece around making my home space  comfortable, inviting, and warm --- consistent with my spirit I might argue. Still, there's loads of resistence and paralysis around it. It's something I've struggled with for a long time - not caring so much about "MY SPACE" and instead being concerned about the pieces of me that I take to the streets... impeccably, taking my tour of "keeping up appearances" on the road while neglecting the homefront (READ: ME... until a few months ago. And now - with someone here - I feel the urgency to change that. But I need to find the lesson in this that is around why I need to do it - FOR ME! Still searching and always on the journey, I'm game for it. And I'm sure there's something around SELF-VALUE (or lack thereof) and EXTERNAL VALIDATION tied into this conundrum. And I'm looking at that. Meanwhile, I finally have someone in my life (Anthony) who has taken on the challenge of supporting me in de-cluttering the apartment, which I own by the way, and - first - make it something we can live in comfortably and - secondly (and soon thereafter) - budgeting to have it be something that sparkles. One old T-shirt and box at a time... but we're getting there. I am grateful for his support in this, but I am again aware that there are some layers at which only I can peel away as it relates to emotional clutter and what lies beneath that. Should be an exciting ride... !!!

Meanwhile, on Memorial Day, we had the opportunity to hang out with the couple that we hold high for how they show up in their home, outside their home, and with us overall. It's our "A Day in the Life of Riley" favorites Jason & Marqise, who invited us to their Queens home for a pre-cookout set of shrimp kabobs and white wine. It's always nice to be in their home which is inviting and beautifully decorated. Their dog Gwen is a hoot too.

Then, we segued to another new couple on the block - Troy and Darrell - for the actual cookout. Troy was such a warm and accommodating host. And of course, Jason continued his hospitable way. Jason & Marqise's friend Alexis joined us. She's always 'golden sunshine' when we get together. We really had a great time. It's always so nice for us to be in the presence of other couples who've been doing it longer. And I'm thinking that we serve as our own example as we figure out this thing called LOVE.