Put a smile on your face!

I can still see Mike's face when we first found out he was going to be a daddy. I came running down the stairs with the positive pregnancy test in my hand, and he was at the bottom of the stairs smiling from ear to ear. I've never seen him happier, until yesterday that is.

A few weeks ago, his dad mentioned that he would be coming up to Maryland for the weekend, and he wanted to stop by and see Mike. Probably the longest couple weeks of Mike's life, but definitely worth the wait. Yesterday morning, Mike gave his father directions to our house, and John said he'd be there around 10:30. Of course Mike was so anxious, he couldn't stop cleaning and straightening up the house for the arrival of his best friend. Don't get me wrong, I was little bit nervous too; Afterall, I'd never met him before.

I asked Mike what kind of car he drove, and he said he drove Sally's car up, a Chevy Cobalt. I was sitting in the living room on the black leather couch waiting for him to pull up. All of a sudden I see a silver Cobalt backing into a parking spot, and I thought to myself, like father, like son...Mike is always backing into a parking spot. Mike went running up to the door, and he told Diesel that Grandpa was here. The two of them went to the front door to greet him. Diesel sat patiently on the front porch, and I stood back to let Mike and his dad have their moment. I'm certain it was a hug that the two of them would never forget, as I could hear one of them getting choked up. I heard John say he had to go back to his car to get something, but I couldn't quite hear what he had said. Maybe he needed a moment to wipe away the happy tears from his face before he met his daughter-in-law.

I walked outside with Mike and Diesel, and here came John with two boxes of Ledo's Pizza! What?!?!? There's no Ledo's Pizza in South Carolina? No wonder Mike left Myrtle Beach! "Why hello there daughter-in-law!" I gave him a big hug, and told him it was so nice to finally meet him.

He came inside, and we chatted for a couple hours. Mike pulled up some pictures on Snapfish to show him from some of our previous vacations, and he talked about some cruises he's been on. We took a few pictures, and gave him a tour of the house, and he told Mike how proud he was of him, despite allowing me to hang my huge Longhorns picture in the "man cave" as well as all the Steelers Super Bowl trophies.

We took him to Hollow Creek to grab a bite to eat after we took a quick spin around the neighborhood to show him the views of Middletown. We raised our glasses, and I told him we needed to do this more often. He definitely agreed, and told us we were welcome to his home anytime. We were all good with the tears...I only let loose a little bit once, and Mike got a little emotional at lunch as well, but all in all it was a great day!

We drove him back to the house to give a quick goodbye to Diesel, and grab those pizzas for Sally! John would never hear the end of that. But, afterall, if I ever left Jersey without a tomato pie, I'd be in trouble too!

Hugs all around, and I'll never forget the moment when my father-in-law looked me in the eyes, and said "Take care of my little girl for me." I ensured him I would, and told him I couldn't wait to meet Sally at the August wedding, and we really looked forward to seeing him again.

It was so nice to finally meet my father-in-law, and it felt so good seeing Mike with his best friend again.