Five People Who Mean A Lot (In No Particular Order)

It feels a little unfair, trying to figure out which five to include. I think I might have to cheat, put them into groups just to get in everyone I want to put on the list. And also, because this is a kink blog, to keep things vague enough that I don't detail anyone so carefully that they recognize themselves or someone else recognizes them. :)

5. My family. I have a big, wonderful extended family I almost never feel like I see enough. A wonderful mom and dad, great brothers and sisters, amazing grandparents that still impress me even in their 90s, astonishing nieces and nephews, cousins that make every family reunion a delight...I love the family I have made, and I wouldn't give them up for anything, but I am blessed to have a biological family that I love to be with, as well. And because I know this, I want to make sure that the people who I have invited into my family know that joy of unconditional love as well.

4. My friends. I have been blessed to make a lot of good friends over the years, people that I share memories both silly and important with, people who remain very important to me even though I see them less and less as family takes up more and more of my time. It never takes more than a moment for us to reconnect, and then it's as though all the years fall away and we're laughing all over again. I hope I'm a friend like that to others, too.

3. Foxy. If you know who she is, you'll know why. :)

2. Squiikitoi. What we have is new, I don't think either of us necessarily know where it's leading, and I often feel like I don't show her enough how much I care. But she is wonderful, gloriously random and uninhibited, and also a smart and caring person who works herself hard for the things she wants. She is passionate about everything, and to know her, even for a moment, is to fall under her spell to some extent.

1. Lady Ru'etha. When I wrote 'Love Like Winter' with thrall, and I was searching for the words Carly would use to describe to Renata why she was willing to sacrifice herself to save Abby, I thought of how I felt about Lady Ru'etha. (For those of you who haven't read 'Love Like Winter', just go with me here.) And what I wrote was, "She's my everything." Lady Ru'etha is my everything. There's nothing else to say.