One of my partners sent me this tweet recently, and I did get a good laugh out of it, but it also made me think about something: as a polyamorous person with multiple partners, I sometimes forget who I’ve told what to. Not major stuff (usually); just minor things.

But then I was thinking about NRE, and how great it can feel when you start seeing a new person. Last month I met someone new and we hit it off almost instantly, and while we don’t know yet what’s going to happen between us, there’s definitely some NRE there.

(By the way: NRE doesn’t have to only be sexual or romantic; it can be platonic as well. A new friendship can give you NRE, or even getting a new colleague or new job.)

This tweet, though, makes me realize what’s better than NRE: having someone new to whom you can tell all your stories, jokes, and puns. And introduce them to the media you like. And play games with them that are new to them.

I suppose those are all forms of NRE, when you get right down to it. But given how often I tend to retell stories, only to be stopped partway through with a “you’ve told me this before” (or for me to say “wait, did I tell you this already?”), having a new partner is great for being able to stretch out and really tell the stories, refining them each time to make the telling that much better.

Maybe that’s a writer thing; ultimately, I’m a storyteller. But I have to believe it’s not just me.