Bumpers & Bliss

Just saw that I wrote this seven months ago and never posted… Woops! Here goes.

If I ever needed a sign to whip out the old virtual pen and spill my heart into a blog, the universe delivered—wrapped in traffic and timing.

I almost forgot I’d made a quiet promise to myself: to write the first entry of this mini getaway with my partner while en route to vacation. But in classic me fashion, I got caught up—vibing to the hum of wheels on the highway and sunlight pouring through the windows. That is, until everything came to a screeching halt.

The Uber driver squinted through the windshield, sighed, and said in a thick Spanish accent, “You see dat ahead? That’s trafico. We gonna be stuck here for a while.”

I must’ve looked like someone just told me brunch was canceled. Deflated. And then—like a sweet nudge from the universe—I remembered: the blog.

So here I am. Writing, not just because traffic gifted me the time, but because my heart feels full, and my thoughts are soft. This moment deserves more than just photos and passing memories. It deserves to live in words.

Let’s start with the obvious: I just got into a relationship. And not the kind you stumble into out of boredom or lonely desperation. A real one. One that’s breathing life into parts of me I didn’t even know were dorment.

This love isn’t wrapped in the performance of perfection. It’s honest. Unpolished. And more beautiful than I ever imagined love could be.

Before our first date, he read my entire memoir. Every chapter. He didn’t skim. He sat with it. Held space for the pain, the joy, the versions of me that still make me wince—and showed up to meet the real me, not a curated version.

From day one, we made a pact to be radically transparent, even when it’s messy. Especially when it’s messy. Some of those early conversations had me crying—like ugly crying with my hands shaking. I kept thinking, is this the part where he says goodbye? He shared things with me and confessed the same. But we stayed open anyway.

I decided long before we met: I’d rather be loved for who I truly am than adored for who I’m definitely not.

And something wild happened—we didn’t run from the dark parts. We turned toward them. He became my sun, and I—his night sky. It might sound poetic, maybe a little dramatic, but it’s the best way I can describe it. When we revealed the things that hurt the most, we didn’t dim each other—we lit up.

Between our kids, work, and businesses, time together doesn’t just happen—we carve it out. Which is exactly why, when his work called him to Mexico for the week, I started packing.

In our early days together, I kept bracing for the fall. For the shoe to drop. For him to realize I’m too busy, too complex, too much. For me to catch a glimpse of something behind the scenes that would make me doubt the calming safety I’d felt.

But every time, instead of chaos or disappointment, I found peace. Over and over again.

That’s when I knew—I could actually exhale. We are not on any deadlines. Time is just a clock, and clocks don’t exist in eternity.

Now, here I am. Somewhere between highway lanes and blogging, stuck in traffic on the way to a man who feels like home.

I can’t stop smiling as I type this. Because for the first time in a long time, I’m not running from anything. I’m running toward something real. Something grounded. Something extraordinary.

More soon, dear reader. But for now, I’m putting my phone down. I want to be fully present for our own brand of magic.

So here’s to the Mexican sun we’ll soak in… And the love that makes it all feel like destiny.

Until next time,

Maria 🌹