no better place

Right Here, Right Now.

Some mornings are meant for productivity, hustle, and matching underwear. And then… there are other ones, mmm...

I’m playing hooky. On a Thursday. And the sheer deliciousness of it is not lost on me.

It takes a minute for my body to adjust to this new, slower gear. To switch off the relentless hum in my brain that usually pipes up with reminders of deadlines and meetings and whether or not he remembered to defrost chicken for dinner. But today? Today, the only thing defrosting is me! Stretched out and lazy under crisp white linens, I am a cat in a sunbeam.

Outside, the washing machine drones on, a steady, hypnotic lullaby. Funny how even domestic chores can sound sweet when you’re not the one doing them hehe... I shift slightly, hunting for that perfect cold spot on the sheets. 
Found it! Ahhh…

I pull myself into a tight little cocoon.
He should’ve stayed.
I wish he’d stayed.
But wishing feels greedy somehow when you’re already this lucky.

The front door clicks. My ears perk up. Footsteps… soft ones. Careful ones. I smile into the pillow because I know exactly who is padding their way to me. He’s trying not to wake me, which makes it all the more adorable when I throw back the covers just enough to peek one eye open.

“I spy with my little eye,” I murmur, voice low and scratchy with sleep, “something beginning with S…”

His grin is audible, even before I see it. He’s back. And he’s brought that mood with him-the playful one that is locked away on busy days.

The thing about mornings like this? They’re magic. Not the dramatic, lightning-bolt, fairy-tale magic.  No, this is the quieter kind. The kind you almost miss if you’re not paying attention. But I am. I am fully in the moment. I am paying attention. To the morning filtering through sheer curtains. To the lazy hum of the washing machine. To him, standing there like he has all the time in the world and nothing better to do than pull the duvet off me with a flick of his wrist.

“It’s too hot to be under covers,” he says, tilting his head as if he’s made a scientific observation.

Having main character energy in your 50's with bushy hair and wearing flannels, now that is truly a forgotten talent in the era of BBL's, Botox, plump lips and beach umbrella lashes. But I unlock it, and engage the temptress in me. I’m on my back now, knees bent, smiling at him like we’re teenagers caught in the best kind of mischief.

“Oops,” he adds, eyeing me with a grin that makes my stomach do a little woo-hoo, “Brown like toast… and just as hot.”

Flattery before coffee? Dangerous. But I’m feeling reckless.

I kneel up, lean closer, reaching out. 
“Come?” I whisper, an invitation and a dare.
The sound he makes is part groan, part laugh. And I’m pretty sure it’s my favorite melody.

This is the sweet spot. Not just the bed, although it is ridiculously comfortable. But this- this moment where you don’t need to chase anything because it’s all already here.

A morning like this is the reward for the work we do on the other days.
The days when life is messier, faster, less forgiving.
When we look at each other with the eyes of strangers.
When the world’s been harsh, and we need to hide out like hermits in our own little rooms.

But here we are, we’ve built this space. This trust. This knowing how to show up for each other, whether it’s big love or small gestures or, as it happens, a spontaneous Thursday morning game of I Spy.

Bringing laughter and play to a 36-year old relationship, bringing him home to me by sending wishes into the universe…
Cool, right?
Hot, most definitely!
Kind of a superpower...

How can I not believe in destiny and magic on mornings like this. Easy to be grateful, to accept the good without suspicion., to not feel fear that you are perhaps too happy and it will all get taken away...To let the small things, a stolen hour, a shared laugh, be enough. 
More than enough.

Early morning hooky on a Thursday morning? It doesn’t get better than this.

Right here, right now, the universe is perfectly aligned.
And the day? 
Oh, it’s set to THRILL.