Once upon a time, in a far away place called Wilmington, Laura and Miles bought a DVD—a movie they had not yet seen. It was entitled Miss Congeniality 2, and promised a good show. Their time was not their own in the last days of North Carolina living. You see, they were in the process of relocating to a distant land called Wisconsin, and there were tasks to be completed...boxes needed packing and dust bunnies needed trapping. It was with heavy hearts that they packed the DVD, still encased in its cellophane wrapping.

One evening in Wisconsin, Miles and Laura had a tiring day. For imagination's sake, let's call it "last night". They slogged toward their plush couch and slumped against the pillows. Weariness became palpable, a canopy draped from the ceiling, the walls, and every other surface imaginable. It weighed upon them, brushing upon their shoulders. "I should do more work tonight..." began Miles.

"Yeah...and I should unpack another box..." added Laura.

Their eyes met and communicated their most secret desires. Their longing spoke louder, more articulately, than any voice ever had: "Let's do nothing instead."

Now naturally, "nothing" entailed the viewing of Sandra Bullock sequels.

Oh yeah, and they lived happily ever after.

The end.

Miles. Keys. Bad combination. (see further documentation here and here.)

With loads of help from my aunts and from my parents, we had the U-Haul unloaded and ready to be returned before 10 this morning. Mom and I chattered about something inconsequential as Dad hiked up the hill to where we detached the trailer yesterday. Miles made to move the truck accordingly. "Hmmm," Mom and I heard moments later. This is Miles' favorite word, expression, and response. It unnerves me. It has no defined emotion attached...though, today, I had a pretty good idea what was coming. "Hon, do you have the keys?"

"Nope."

"Hmmm..."

So, we called Debbie and Brenda, Mom's sisters. "Do you have the keys?" We had, minutes earlier, sent them along with the contents of the cab. They were not answering their phone. Miles marched up and down the driveway, "hmm"-ing perplexedly all the way. Mom tried Debbie and Brenda again. She left another message. Miles "hmm"-ed some more.

Finally, we decided to just drive to my aunts' home. They did not have the keys. Miles "hmmm"-ed. We journeyed back to the farm.

As my childhood home came into focus, we noticed something peculiar. The truck was sitting at the top of the driveway, not the bottom where it was when we left. We all found this very impressive for a vehicle without keys...very impressive indeed. Miles "hmm"-ed.

We jumped from the car and asked Dad, clearly the only witness, how this had come to pass. He grinned and laughed, "The keys were in the truck." Miles "hmm"-ed.

We made it! 4:30 arrived, and I was hugging my mother and dancing from foot to foot, eager to use the bathroom ;-) 25 hours of travelling time, and we're still a happy couple! No doubt because of a little bribery on the part of Sir Miles.