HOME

     I had a lovely father’s day.  Even though my father has been gone for so long, it still was sweet.  My landlord and friend Paul, has three grown boys that live out of town, so his girlfriend Barbara, and I took him out to dinner.  I wanted him to know how much he means to me.  I bought a lovely card and when I took it out of the bag, there was only an envelope and no card.  There was no time to get another one and I didn’t worry about it.  When I went into his office in the afternoon, he had a nice shirt and dress pants on.  I told him how nice he looked and he said, “Well I have a hot date.”  The restaurant was almost empty when we arrived as most folks were sitting outside.  We sat in a corner and the three of us giggled while we ate.  Everything was so quiet. The waiter took great care of us.  I don’t know, sometimes, I just like to relax with others.  It makes life sweeter.  When I was growing up, these special days could be very stressful for one reason or another, but this day was peace.  I think one reason is that Paul was eager to “receive” and let these two women be nice to him.  He has done so much for me that I wanted to express my gratitude.  When I had cancer last year, he drove me to many appointments. I lived about twenty minutes away.  After I moved here, he drove me to my first radiation treatment and then when treatments were done, he and Barbara took me out to celebrate.  It will be a year since I moved.  I took forever to get out of my old place.  I couldn’t find an apartment that would work for me.  I think I was just waiting for this beautiful home with a perfect friend.  Not too long ago, we sang a song in chorus titled, “Home is Where the Heart Is”.  My heart is here.