Labor day approaches, which means the dog days of summer are coming to the close. Always a good time to look back and reflect on the past few months.

Summer is usually a mostly quiet season for me. June is always a flurry of activity, and then my summer days just roll by until September. Spring and the Fall are usually my big seasons.

This year, summer brought with it lots of unexpected bounties and joys. My relationship with kathryntact has been deepening in a lovely way. This summer I met both of her parents, with a trip to Connecticut and a trip to North Carolina. She came up to spend TES Fest with me. We've laughed, shared our goals and fears, and most remarkably, created a relationship that also includes being best of friends.

At Leather Retreat this year, I also met another person who has quickly become a part of my life. Dara, as she will be known in this LJ, surprisingly lived very close to me, and our interests interlocked very rapdily. We've enjoyed spending a lot of time together, and it has made this summer much more eventful than in recent past years. She does poly very well, and I am happy that it is working out so well.

My relationship with kinkmogul also went through drastic changes this summer. I am no longer her Master, but what we are when we are together is no less magical. Our time together at Thunder in the Mountains was heavinely, and I often think back to that weekend when I need a nice raunchy smile.

One big change in my life that I am very proud of is the eschewing of labels. lolitasir wrote about this very topic in her brilliant post here. I have definitely been guilty in the past of trying to force labels onto my relationships... so much so that it became one of the major reasons why some of those relationships failed. Now a little older, a little wiser, I am finding that there is so much more enjoyment of the relationship itself when we are not struggling to define it. Give it room to breathe, and just let it exist.

I can honestly say at the end of this summer that I am genuinely happy. I have people who love me in my life, and that is all a man can really ask for.