Life, Death And Love

Other men said they have seen angels,
But I have seen thee
And thou art enough. 

Gareth and I are in the states right now in Pennsylvania for a funeral of a grandmother to one of my close friends.  The funeral and the reception house were filled with hundreds of people in a testimony to how much she was loved by her community.  Even though the occasion was somber, it was great to see some of my old friends.  We arrived the evening before the funeral and being thirsty we decided to stop at the mini mart and get some snacks and drinks before checking into the hotel.  As I step out of the car to walk into the mini mart out of the darkness and car headlights getting gas I heard "Steve!" screamed several times.  Over my name being screamed I heard Gareth joke, "Elvis is in the building." 

Before I knew what was happening I saw several people running towards me, but with the angle of the car headlights combined with the fact I didn't have my contacts or glasses, I could only make out bodies and thought to myself oh God who is this coming at me.  Before long I was being hugged and jostled by four of my good friends.  We were actually standing in the middle of the parking spots to go into the store as we hugged and kissed and it was only broken up when a car beeped their horn for us to move so he could park and go on with his life.

As we stepped up onto the sidewalk one of my friends sons came out of the store and looked at his mom hugging me and crying and kissing me.  I didn't recognize him at first, he had grown in the years since I saw him last and I could tell he didn't know who this man was his mom was crying and kissing. And that scene played out several more times of the next few days each time I ran into an old friend.  

Last night in the hotel room Gareth was lying on his back on the bed with his head on my stomach watching TV when he suddenly flipped over and said, "Lets buy a house in the states!" and gave me a kiss before I could utter a word.  Laughing, I said sure.  But he assured me he was serious.  We had talked about buying a house in Maryland a few times, but it was just in passing.  But last night he said he thinks it would be a good idea.  We could use it to stay in when were here or we could lease it out for awhile until we're ready to move here down the road. He thinks it would do me good to get back to the States for a bit and while I love the states and there is plenty I miss about being here, I am content in my life.  I told him that and made it clear that all I need to be happy is him and our four-legged children. 

There is a horse show going on at the Farm Show and we spent the day helping some friends and we're supposed to do that again tomorrow, but now he wants to take a drive to the Baltimore-Washington area and 'get a feel for the area'.  I have mixed emotions about it all, so I'll definitely have to give it all some thought.