His Happiness

There's this special kind of excitement that lies within my husband's eyes.  It's contagious, it's beautiful, and it's honestly one of the most wonderful things I have ever experienced in this life.  It's something that occurs much too rarely, but when it does, it seems to fill the room with an immediate dose of magic, leaving all those around him hoping it will never end.  But since our move back east a few months ago, that joy had all but disappeared, as I quietly feared that he had left it behind on the opposite coast.  But yesterday out of nowhere, as we explored the beauties of Boston together, the light in his eyes suddenly returned.  And as I smiled back at his happiness, remembering once again why I loved him so, I knew at that moment that things were going to be alright.

Close To Home

It's funny how you can see something so much clearer once you've had time to miss it.  I hadn't been to my brother-in-law's famous pig roast in almost a decade, so of course its beauties had long since escaped me. But as we arrived the day before to help him set up, I suddenly realized that our assistance wasn't needed at all.  That was because there were already literally dozens of Brian's closest friends flooding down the driveway to help.  There were guys young and old simply appearing with truck beds overflowing with firewood, chairs, tents, and anything and everything one could imagine.  It was simply as if everybody Brian had ever known wanted to lend a hand.  And as they joked and jabbed at each other with the kind of familiarity only the closest of friends can possess, an unexpected jealousy suddenly arose within me as I soon realized how special what he had truly was.  For most of my life I had silently pitied those who had never dared to live outside the comfortable boundaries of their hometown, but in seeing all that Brian now had by staying and building lifelong friendships there, it truly made me appreciate the path he had chosen and allowed me to finally realize that I should never again judge a person for choosing to stay close to home.