A post in which I am really in need of sleep,

but really too busy to tend to it.

I had told Mom in cavalier fashion to call me when she woke up this morning. Ordinarily no matter how late I am out I am awake by about 8am. Mom called me at 7:30am to tell me that they were going to breakfast in the lobby of the hotel at 8. I had somehow groped my way to the phone, and blearily tried to wipe away the Vaseline-thick sleepiness from my mind enough to follow what she was saying. When it finally got through, I thought 'There is just no way.' I told Mom I'd have to meet her later.

I stumbled back to bed and crawled beneath the covers, only to realize that my stomach was now fully awake, and it was pretty fucking stoked about the idea of breakfast, thank you very much. It's just damn near impossible to sleep when your stomach is all grumbling and yelling, no matter how tired you are. I got up, called Mom back, and stuck a toothbrush in my mouth.

I got to the hotel at about 8:30, and had coffee with Mom, Rod, Mary Ellen, and her husband, who seemed immensely cheered at the proximity of waffles. He seemed much nicer this morning. We had coffee and chatted, eventually joined by Maureen and Dee. After more coffee it was determined that the rest of the party was headed back to Columbia, but Mom and Rod stuck around for a bit. They hadn't eaten, and we decided to go to brunch.

While Mom was getting ready, Rod and I hung out and had a bit of a man-to-man chat. He told me he was grateful to God every day that Mom had come into his life. He is in awe of her class and manners. She has her hooks in him for sure. My mom has this thing about her that men never seem to be able to get enough of. She changes them forever. Even if the relationship doesn't last, they are never the same. Rod 's got it pretty bad. Having seen this before, I wasn't totally surprised. I'm glad for him. Mom looked a long time for someone like him, and he's awfully close to exactly what she wanted. He's a Yankee, but I don't hold that against him. Frankly, if Granny Brown likes him, that's such an amazing thing that it really cancels out the misfortune of his birthplace. Seriously though, I told him I was very happy for both of them, and that all he ever had to do to get along with me was keep Mama happy. If he does that, we'll never have a problem. He seems to be doing a pretty damn good job so far. Mom looks great, and I can tell she feels great too. I really am tickled for her. The fact that he didn't hate me on sight because of what I am (as have the rest of her men) is just really icing on the cake.

I decided to take them to the brunch at Gourmet Pizza since I enjoyed it so much the other week. We ran by the house first to visit a bit while we waited for brunch to start, and Mom got to see the painting. It's not her kind of thing, but she was nice about it. Rod was politely complimentary about the house, and unsurprisingly completely uninterested in the glass. I had thought maybe, since he likes old things... but really no. That was pretty unrealistic. He was nice about it though. We had a nice brunch, after which she and Rod headed home, while yours truly collapsed in the bed for some sorely needed shut-eye.

I woke up about 3:30. I felt much clearer. I got up and changed out a load of laundry. I had worn the same pair of pants Wednesday night, Thursday night, Friday, and last night to the party, because I didn't have any other casual pants clean that I could wear. I was reeeeeallllly sick of wearing those pants. I was really glad that I had taken the time to throw jeans in the dryer at 4am.

I got cleaned up and headed to Pickens to see Michael. He had texted me last week to see if I was free for dinner, and when I told him how booked I was he told me to hold today for him. Of course I was happy to do that. We were both in a weird mood, and just decided to hang out at his house for a bit and grab some dinner.

I met his new puppy, Sweetie, a really cute Chow/Husky mix he got for VD. She is as adorable as she is nerve-eating. Really cute, but has that whole puppy endless-energy-and-needle-sharp-milk-teeth thing going on. The other animals have fled to the tops of things in horror. But she is a sweet little thing. Eventually we stopped jawing long enough to head over to the Silver Bay for some good ole Southern-style greasy calabash seafood. We got a quiet table in the back, ate, and talked and talked. We were both just in that kind of mood. We had the sweetest waitress. My seafood was good, but my fries were old. I just ate them, although I shouldn't have. I hate it when I eat fattening stuff that isn't even that good. I just didn't want to trouble her to go get some fresh ones, she was so nice to us. We had a long conversation over dinner. Even such old friends can still find out new things about each other. We've been friends for a long time, and we're old enough now that we have more appreciation of it - you don't meet tons of people you get along like that with in this life. We've always been able to pick right back up where we left off, regardless of how long it's been since we've seen each other. It's nice to have that foundation of good memories in a friendship that is still green and growing - we don't just re-live the "good ole days". We still like each other for who we are now.

Michael is a great listener, and is usually as interested in what you are saying as he is in talking himself. He asks questions that let you know that he's really listening to you, and cares about what you're saying. It's even better to be with someone that understands that the whole world tries to tear you down - a friend helps try to build you up. That is pretty rare. It's one of the reasons he is such a successful businessman. One of the things we talked about tonight is something I have thought a lot about lately. So many people are just looking for someone to be nice to them. If you'll do that, they'll pretty much love you for it. When we were talking tonight, Michael said "I know you hate... what yesterday was." in the course of the conversation. I was at once tickled and touched. But that's Michael. He is a sensitive person (underneath the defenses), who uses that to be sensitive to others he cares about. Because he knows I find Valentine's Day painful, he didn't even want to say the words. Of course I'm not that fragile, but I was touched nonetheless. It was one of those little things that remind you why you love someone.

After dinner, a round of shopping was apparently in order. Michael and I have been shopping buddies from way back. I even bought stuff at Wal-Mart. I found a pair of pants to fit me. I need more casual stuff apparently, even though I am planning on Shifting Some Weight. I actually ended up buying more than he did. I introduced him to Quakes - and despite initial skepticism, I'm pretty sure he liked them.

When we got back to the house, we settled in for a good long talk and visit. Joe was home from work by that time, but just went on down into the den to watch a movie. I think we kind of bore him, honestly. But this was one of our good talks. We told stories about our families, and talked about spirituality, mutual acquaintances, memories we shared, amusing anecdotes - Michael is a born raconteur, and I come from a long line of story-tellers myself. When we get together, we can talk all night, and have. Despite my intentions of getting home to get some needed rest tonight, I just fell in and couldn't pull myself away. When I looked at the clock, it was 11:30. But what a great visit! It was so worth the loss of sleep. I can always do that later.

I did reflect on the weekend on the way home. I'm a very lucky, blessed person to have so many great friends. My cup runneth over. I'm so grateful for all of them. I love you guys!