“Honey, your man Tim is on!” I’d direct these words at my husband, but I knew that he was really my man Tim. And now he’s gone. I loved Tim Russert. I loved him almost as much as I love Jon Stewart, which is a lot. I spent every Sunday morning with Tim.

Typical scene: my husband and I in the kitchen making waffles for the kids (ensconced in the family room watching cartoons so there would be no interruptions during Tim time.) The TV in the kitchen is little and old, but Tim didn’t require hi def. We’d cheer him on as he’d dig into the politician or pundit du jour, never letting them off the hook. We loved watching them squirm and try to dodge Tim’s questions.

The latest one to get us going was the aptly-named Harold Ickes, refusing to answer certain questions from Tim about Ickes’ gal Hillary. Tim was masterful and always a delight to watch at work. It seemed like his panel of regulars had such a good time together. I have to believe that in large part was due to Tim’s obviously gregarious personality. Most of the usual gang participated in the tribute to Tim that aired on Sunday, lead by Tom Brokaw. It had some tear-jerk moments and some funny/strange ones (old video of Doris Kearns Goodwin popping out of a cake for Tim’s birthday??)

Like so many, I’ll be glued to the the Sunday morning slot to see what NBC does. In an article in the New York Times this morning, Bob Schieffer was quoted as saying NBC would need to hire four or five people to replace Tim. The names being bandied about provide interesting fodder for speculation but one thing’s for sure. They are big shoes to fill. And Sunday mornings just won’t be the same.