Here’s a cartoon trope. A character is chasing another character. Let’s say, Wile E. Coyote. At some point the chaser, Wile, will find himself suspended in mid-air having run off a cliff. He will break the fourth wall, look at the camera, and plummet to earth. He will survive to race again, but it was still a long way down. That’s how I felt yesterday after my little party. The guests left before nine and I couldn’t fall asleep until midnight. Whew!

For two weeks I’d run hard, getting ready. Then came the big day. The photons at the particle accelerator shot out, the guests arrived, and boom it was on. The conversations and laughter were so loud they drowned out the music playing on the stereo, the music I thought might have to carry the day. Then we picked and sang a little, and after that all the happy people left, having cleaned up as well. Those are good guests.

Now the inside and out of my house is fairly well painted with a good dose of laughter and fond memories of people talking, singing, and getting to know one another. There were children there as well. They swam in the pool. Joined in the singing of songs. They walked around looking at the baby swallows. There were also people we missed, both living and dead. We talked about them, made connections, remembered them, because that’s what you do for people you love and loved. Remember them. And now here I am in yesterday’s tomorrow braced for another day and fairly confident I’ll make it because I have friends who came to see me.