International Enchantment 12/3/2023

By: Jennifer Richardson Holt

A fascinating thing happened last week.  If you read my last blog, I told you of an international guest that was coming to my home over the holiday period. Well, that all happened and went exceptionally well. There was a somewhat unexpected something that happened during all that excited chaos, however.  It happened to not just me, but my husband, my daughter and even my pets.  I had certain expectations for my time with my visitor, but I cannot say that I saw this coming.  I don’t really think any of us did.  But how could we have known?  This is a first for all of us, on so many levels.

It started off questionably before our company came. If you have ever had to drive in Atlanta, you know it is a far less than thrilling experience. On the day we went to the airport there was a heavy downpour. That isn’t something I’d recommend adding to the already tedious Atlanta commute.  You could barely see ahead of you. There was just a wall of white stretched across far too many lanes of traffic.  So ideal circumstances were not abounding. But I admit things did look up. His flight was early. Somehow, we miscalculated our time and actually arrived at the airport far too early as well.  Finding where to go at the airport was unexpectedly simple.  All signs seemed to be pointing toward the positive.

Once we picked up our guest it was a bit of a hectic evening navigating in the rain and traffic, making pre-planned stops and generally trying to fit in what was probably far too much for someone who had just had a ten-hour flight.  Not to mention the poor man had to experience the navigation of a metropolitan monsoon. Things were pleasant but busy without much time for assessment.  If I am being honest, it was more than we should have tried to do.  In reviewing it, we might not should have tried to pack as much in.  Hindsight, as it traditionally is, is 20/20.

But then morning came, and the magic began.  I made homemade biscuits and, not tooting my own horn but, I do a pretty good job with them.  There were other southern staples to give our friend the pleasure of experiencing as well.  Yes, breakfast was good. He seemed overall very pleased.  The magic wasn’t just tasty food on the breakfast table, however.  The conversation came easy and comfortably.  We talked and laughed. We planned the day and mused about the simplest of things.  You would never have known it was his first time in my home. I even watched this man literally enchant my pets.  He would pick up my little dog and she would put both paws on his face and look into his eyes adoringly. Then ever so gingerly she would give him a little doggy tongue smooch.  I have never seen the likes of such. We started calling her his girlfriend after that.  Even my cat fell to the charm.  We look over and there he is sprawled out, eyes rolled back in his head, letting our friend’s hand sink into the fur of his tummy.

While I tell tales of our animals loving our guest, they weren’t the only ones.  My daughter fell in love too. Yes, he brought gifts but that wasn’t it. I cannot begin to explain to you what an absolute joy it was to watch those two interact.  They became fast friends from the very outset. I could relate to you a story that he told her involving ketchup and King Charles, but I will spare you. Just know that she hasn’t forgotten it, and it has left quite the mark on how she interacts with her condiments.

Somehow though, whatever enchantment our friend brought with him across the pond, was quite contagious.  I didn’t know that someone could become a family member that quickly but apparently it can happen because I lived it.  I have never so quickly felt so comfortable with someone. He and my husband became instant best friends. I know my husband does not bond quickly but in another inexplicable case, this was the exception to the rule. This man became, well, there is no other word for it but beloved. It was as if we had grown up with him and he was a family member though he lives and always has lived an ocean away. And when it came time for him to go, we avoided his departure like the plague. We didn’t want him to leave. We wanted to be sure wherever else he went that he was as loved there as he was with us.  We really couldn’t guarantee that, but it certainly didn’t stop us from telling him that if he ever felt uncomfortable in any way that he should call, no, let’s use his term, that he should ring us, and we would come get him immediately.     

So, I got a new family member last week.  He came and we all fell in love. He hadn’t even left before we were planning his next trip to America and our first trip to England. I didn’t even get into all the adventures of his activities here because really, the relationship that grew is more significant. It’s not every day that a person just casually moseys into your life, and they become like blood to you.  I could not be happier about it, though there is that pesky Atlantic in the way.  We will just have to see what can be done about that.