Dear Handsome Place to Rest my Head,

Look how lovely that Arizona sun treats you. How happy you must be to have that always beaming window right next to you. A constant reminder you are loved and cherished.

I slept in you years ago. It was our first time, remember? You were there for me to rest my head after meeting the people I now refer to as my mother and father-in-law for the first time. And you were there when that sun first cracked through that window and the man next to me, my best friend at the time and now my husband and best friend, whispered he loved me. And I whispered the same thing back, burying my giddy face into your pillow.

It was another year or so later in the middle of the night with the smell of the cows lingering and the sound of grandfather clock chiming on the hour when I felt a hiccup. Not figuratively, literally. Hooper hiccuped and the little thump thump was palpable. Lying next to me with his hand over my belly, Willy and I marveled at this little life we created.

Exhausted after a short plane flight, albeit a short flight with a baby, you invited us in for rest once again. And again, in the middle of the night in the company of the farmland and the chiming grandfather clock, I felt something else. It was not the warmth in the words “I love you”, because love already filled the room to capacity. It was not Hooper hiccuping either, as he was fast asleep curled up with the safety of his blanket and warmed by the very love we created. It was a flutter I felt. Deep in my belly. Another reminder that life is good and the blessings great. Another memory you have given me.

Until I have the privilege to rest my head again,

Ashley