Just One on Tuesday

I cried at work today.

Not the "oh my gosh I hate my job" sort of crying. No, the sort of crying that happens when your best friend who lives 2,000 miles away calls to tell you he is in Illinois. Not just in the state, mind you, but in the exact home you're driving to in a few days. And not just him; no, he's brought with him two of your favorite people in the universe - his wife (my friend Rae) and their daughter, Kaylee.

If I'd had the balls to wish for such an amazing surprise, I don't think I would've wished for it, because the disappointment would have been too great if my wish hadn't come true.

So yeah, he called me this morning and I was at my desk when I answered. He started handing the phone around so I could hear the other voices and I got really confused, wondering what they were all doing in Tucson. It really did a number on my wee little brain, lemme tell ya. And then it started to hit me ... they were all together. I in an old Victorian house in Jacksonville, IL, where so many of my best memories from college happened. It almost didn't sound like my voice when I said "You're here!" into the phone.

I think my boss called the paramedics.

They're here. So many of the people I love are in Central Illinois right now. I'm leaving early, abandoning my New Year's Eve plans so that I can hug them tomorrow. I simply cannot wait. Life is grand. How fortunate am I to begin 2009 surrounded by so much love?