The Morning After

There is calm about my apartment. The patio door is open; I can here the swish and whoosh of traffic going by unseen below my balcony. Everyone has gone home. I am sitting here, alone, appreciating the solitude, though somewhat disturbed by the street noise.

Last night I hosted a bachelor party for my friend Brian. I am happy and fortunate to call him my friend; he has given me the opportunity to be his best man. As such I am responsible for the the bachelor party. We managed to avoid all the cliches that so many of these events seem to fall into. there were no strippers, no cakes popped out of, no drunken blackouts.

What we did was very simple. A bunch of us guys got together, drank some beer, ate burgers and chips, watched football and played video games. It may sound very pedestrian, even boring to some. For us, however, it was a perfect night together, just guys being guys without the need for things that inevitably end badly. It was, from my view at least, a lot of fun. Brian said it was perfect for him too. That's what matters.

Today, of course, is the inevitable aftermath. As is usual with these things at my place, there were plenty of hands in the making and plenty of hands in the cleaning up. Brian arrived early to help set things up; Brad took over cooking burgers in the kitchen; Dion brought his 51" TV; Dan brought his Nintendo: everyone brought beer, lots of beer. This morning Brad, Brian and Dan were still around and help clean up. Yet no matter how much we try, there is always something left for me at the end. I think I do that on purpose. I think I need this bit at the end to confirm that I can still host and accept the responsibilities of hosting.

I like this feeling, the contentedness that goes with making others happy, with providing others a safe place to have fun without worrying about all the other stuff in life. I like the calm before the storm, the noise and excitement of the storm itself, and the quiet time after the storm ends. I like it all; it makes me feel good. It makes me feel alive, in the best possible way.