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.

We're officially homeless...and Midwestern bound. Yesterday has left me very weary today. I think I packed and moved boxes from 9AM until 9PM...stopping only briefly to trap scurrying dust bunnies here and there. 200 miles down, 1,000 to go!

He gives me joy and laughter....affection and love. He gives me everything he has, and everything I could ever need. Miles just makes life sweeter. I am especially celebratory today, his birthday.

A long time ago, a very young, peaceable Miles raised his fist to another boy—a boy stronger than he. The boy was bullying two of Miles' young neighbors. He defended them and then befriended the bully. This is what I call "the Miles touch". He leaves this mark on people, an indefinable appreciation of his generosity and goodheartedness.

Last February, as my visit with Mom grew to a close, we mourned the end. You could say that Mom and I are close...but close isn't really the right word. Quite simply, we are each other. We are each other's air. Sometimes I heatedly ask my reflection, "How could you? How could you leave her? You've caused her nothing but heartache!" But then I know...I know why I left. And, I know that I would leave all over again.

I cannot put into words the depth of love that these two individuals have afforded me. Mom hugs me tearfully, understanding. Mom loves Miles. She loves whom I love...blindly. "Miles is the kindest, gentlest, most loving person. I am honored to have him as a son-in-law." He affects everybody that way. He is a smile ready to pounce on a downcast day.

Happy birthday, dear Miles.

It was on this day, at approximately 12:30 in the afternoon, that I discovered the creature. The subdued, gray morning was caressed away by tendrils of golden sunlight, leaving the day energized and wanting for productivity. Miles and DJ removed the dressers from our bedroom.

I have a bit of a neat freak streak in me. The last 2+ weeks of chaos have been nothing shy of maddening, and I'm delighted to announce that the ulcer is coming along nicely. This being so (the cleanliness, not the ulcer), I was not prepared to discover the occupant uncovered in the bedroom. It makes my skin crawl just thinking about it. It's been there, watching us, for goodness knows how long...*shudders*