The visitor from the Garden State who says Pennsylvania but decided yesterday that she really liked the way "the east" sounded

I can't quite wrap my head around the absolute fact that Shannon was just here. I miss her already. Already my house is different, too quiet without her. Did I take enough photos? I'm not sure. She did, I know that. About a hundred at the rodeo, and double that of Cheyenne. Cheyenne moped around the house all morning looking for her, and when she realized that Shannon was nowhere to be found, she let out a big sigh, jumped onto the couch and fell asleep.





I called Mom after I dropped Shannon off at the airport late yesterday afternoon. Mom said that it was good to see her on Friday, and she was glad to hear Shannon was back in town already. Then she invited us over for a drink.

Mom, I just took her to the airport. She's heading home now.

Oh, maybe next time then.

And in that kind of instant, I was snapped back home. Friday had been a vacation for me, not so much because I had taken the day off work but because I took my friend, my niece and my Mom to lunch and at that lunch, Mom rejoined the world and it was great to have her back, around and in the present. It was great that Shannon got to be part of that, but also that I got to be part of it. There's a line in a Robert Earl Keen song that nails how I felt, Feels so good, feelin' good again. I'll not soon forget that lunch.

There's a lot from the weekend I won't forget. But mostly how good the feeling when a friend says she wants to see you and spend time with you. And you pick a date and she buys a plane ticket and before you know it, she's spending a long weekend where you live. And over your morning coffee, you look up from your section of the paper and smile at her sitting across from you at the dining table and reading her own section of the paper, and you think to yourself how happy you are that the two of you are friends and she's right here with you. And because the two of you went to the rodeo the day before, you think that it feels as good and comfortable as a great pair of cowboy boots you've had for a while and worn in just right. That right there, that's a good feeling.