A Slice Of HeavenHolly and I love having friends and family stay with us. It gives us a chance to do some quality visiting, time to catch up on what’s been happening with each other and of course, enjoy some good food. As much as we enjoy it though, it can be a little draining, so we’ve developed a little ritual after everyone has left. It wasn’t planned mind you, it’s just one of those things that happen naturally, but I look forward to it as soon as I hear that someone is coming to visit.

Holly’s Mother and Grandmother were in town since last Sunday. Holly took off 3 days from work so that she could spend time with them and they clearly had a blast. I too enjoyed visiting with them in the evenings when they would come home from a day of shopping and sightseeing. Holly’s Grandmother, Inez, is a real character. She’s so full of life and quick to crack a joke. She’s a real joy in our lives. Holly’s Mom, Judie, is a gem as well. Since we don’t get to see her as often as we’d like, every time we see her Holly and I turn into 10 year olds trying to show our Mom what we’ve recently done. “Mom, look at what I did.” Mom, look at what I can do!” I may be 36 years old, but you wouldn’t know it when I try to show off my latest home project, or recent web site design. We had a blast while they were here and we were sorry to see them go yesterday morning. We all stood in the morning frost, while they pulled out of the driveway and headed back to Baton Rouge.


After a long day at work, Holly and I were both pooped when we got home, so we quickly settled on the couch to watch Friends. After Friends was over Holly fixed a quick dinner and we ate while watching Will and Grace. Once our hunger was sated, we slid into the “recharge ritual” that we’ve come to enjoy once our company has departed.

I was sprawled out on the couch with Holly resting on my left shoulder while Gracie was next to me on my right side. Holly eventually fell asleep and I lowered the volume on the TV. ER, Futurama and Family Guy cruised by as I laid there in total bliss. Having both my “girls” sleeping, nestled up beside me and a small fire going in the fireplace was all I needed. It was truly a slice of heaven. I stroked Holly’s hair and occasionally rubbed Gracie’s ears, just light enough so that neither of them would wake up. I wanted this to last as long as possible. For hours I laid there enveloped in this warm blanket, moving as little as possible and grinning the whole time. Does it get any better than this??

When Celebrity Poker came to a close, Holly shot up with her usual look of confusion, as if to say “Where am I? What’s going on?”. She does this every time she falls asleep on the couch and I have to laugh each and every time it happens. Her face is all scrunched up, her eyes are half opened and her hair just a hint disheveled. She always says the same thing too, in an urgent tone, she exclaims, “Michael, we have to go to bed.” It’s as if we’ve been doing our taxes up until this point and she just can’t take anymore, even though she’s been sleeping for the past two hours. :-D

I just laugh and say “OK.” I’m too happy from my quiet time with her to argue. I’ve had my extra special dessert that only comes along when people come to visit us and for now I’m as restful and happy as I could ever hope to be. I put out the fire, put Gracie in her crate and turn off lights as we make our way upstairs. We walk almost like we’re sleepwalking. We don’t want to wake up too much so that we can slide into our bed and fall fast asleep. As we open the door to our bedroom, I asked “I wonder when Chris or Ken will come up to visit?”