This afternoon and tomorrow I get to be myself

I can feel the relief just about to break. This is the last day of my conference, and after 2 days of super-saturation — no, make that 3 — I’m more than ready to turn tail and run home. It’s Wednesday. The last day of this professional networking extravaganza. The last day of alternating between making the best of things and making a run for it.

Seriously, how do people do this? Oh, I know — they’re neurotypical. And they drink. That’s how they do it. I don’t qualify as either of those, so…

I’m too tired to elaborate.

Anyway, the whole thing is over by 2:00 today. Then I get to be myself. Sigh. I get to hang out with people who live here, wander around some of my old “haunts” (I used to live in this area, over 20 years ago), and see how things have changed. I’ll go for a long walk down at the waterfront. Have some dinner… Just enjoy myself. Then, tomorrow, I get to hang out with a friend whom I haven’t seen in something like 20 years. We used to be close. We used to work together a lot. It was a great time, but she’s here, and my partner and I are on the other side of the country, so…

Anyway, it’s just about time for breakfast. I nearly missed it yesterday, because I didn’t read the program schedule properly. I’ve been to plenty of these conferences, but for some reason I missed that whole breakfast thing. Not today. I’m hungry. I need fortification. And according to my internal clock, it’s nearly time for my lunch. So, better get a move on. Get my shower, get myself dressed, and head on over to the excitement.

I’m just so looking forward to this all being done. So, I can go back to my regular life and not have to worry about all this … stuff. Just to be able to relax, to not be “on” all the time, and chill out. Stim a bit. Talk to myself a bit. Wear the clothes that I want to wear, and be done with it. Just be done.

And then… go home.

Sweet relief.