V.

I am a person who has not slept full nights since I was pregnant with my first child at age 31.  Invariably, I wake up for one hundred known and unknown reasons.  Last night, it was acid reflux.  I knew I should not have had any cream puffs with the champagne my youngest son bought me for Mother's Day.

Luckily, my night table is stocked with a variety of medicinal and non medicinal paraphernalia to help me try get back to sleep. However, one of my most successful go-back-to-sleep strategies that cannot be found in the night table, is to cuddle up to V. and get him to put his arm around me. His weighty calm can sometimes lull me back like he used to do with the boys as little ones.

I am grateful for my husband and partner of almost 30 years.  He sleeps like the dead, roars like a tractor and heats up our bed like a furnace.  Nice... in the winter time.  But best of all, he is always a happy camper on this journey we are sharing which is called Life.  He is always there, solid, dependable, funny, kind, loving and extra specially cuddly.

I can't wait to see what the future brings after the next seven weeks when he finally retires after 45 years of full time work!  You see, V. has the equivalent of almost 9 years of university, 2 of which he did in the daytime!

Thank you Minou, you are the best!

bisous,

ta Stella