I do not want to harm any of my friends.

I do not want to show mercy to any of my enemies. (Which is, at current count, three people. One of them is my mother.)

I ask for everything I want. I do not expect to get it all, but I know that if I don't ask, I will get nothing.

I love because I love because I love. I do not need to justify my emotions to anyone except myself.

I deserve a good life. So does everyone else.

Happiness and love should not be mutually exclusive.

Friendship and love should not be mutually exclusive.

Happiness and friendship should not be mutually exclusive.

Love is not defined by gender, distance, role, spiritual beliefs, family ties, or anything else other than love itself.

I want to know what is going on in the lives of those I care about. I want those I care about to know what is going on in my life.

I expect my requests, desires, and needs to be considered by anyone who claims to love me, care about me, be my friend or my parent, and/or wants me to like them in any sense.

I expect other people to let me know what their requests, desires, and needs are, particularly if they claim to love me, care about me, etc... or if I love them, care about them, etc.

I expect honesty from those I deal with.

I expect to be TOLD when something I do or don't do bothers those I deal with.

My spiritual beliefs, emotional beliefs, sexual beliefs, lifestyle beliefs, committment beliefs, etc. are MY affairs. I will happily explain them to anyone who asks, and will attempt to communicate them to anyone who needs to know, but I also have the right NOT to discuss them.

Now that I've said THAT...

...I love Caleb and I intend to spend the rest of my life with him.

I love Kadin and I intend to spend as much of my life as possible with him.

I love Torian and I hope to spend as much of my life as possible with him.

I love Spike and have no idea how much of my life will be spent with him.

I love Alex and I hope to at least meet him. *wry grin*

I love Nick and I hope to see him again.

I love Rhett and I hope to see him again.

If you are wondering WHY I worded the above seven statements the way I did, ASK ME. Don't assume you know - likely, you don't. Don't assume that I won't tell you - likely, I will. Don't assume that it was a slip of the fingers, or an insult, or anything else, unless you ask and verify it.

I haven't 'caved'. I also haven't given up the possibility of this all working out anyway. In one sense, I don't really CARE what anyone else has to say about my relationships with anyone else, even if the person in question is also in a relationship with me. Yes, I value other peoples' opinions, and want to know them... but I will not let other peoples' opinions run my life. Please understand and accept this.

I've made foolish promises - some of them old, some of them recent, some of them to other people, some of them to myself. Here's one last one that I hope I will keep:

I promise NOT to hold myself to promises, vows, swearings, etc. that are harmful to me and/or those I care about, if breaking them will result in a better outcome than keeping them.

Ok. End of statement... get the fuck off the stage!