Annnd....we’re off!!

Heading up north in an hour or so. Beyond excited, if for no other reason than to see something that isn’t this house, Short Pump, or my office. I have absolutely nothing against those three places, but enough is enough. Lucy is deeply troubled inside her doggy soul at all the packing, all the frantic preparations going on around her. She has done much apprehensive pacing these past 24 hours, and sleeping with one eye open. Poor girl can sense that this time, she’s not coming with us. Lucky for us, Lucy is a dog, not a cat. Otherwise, she would be permanently scarred, and hold a grudge for years at this betrayal. As it is, she will whine for a while, then be sent into ecstatic spasms of joy when Bernadette arrives this afternoon to be her new best friend for the next month. Dogs are so straight forward. It’s wonderful.

A word about my wife. On a recent run, I tweaked my back a little, so as a precaution I have been moving slower the past couple of days. I do 100% of the driving to Maine and I have a history of back issues. So, Pam has had to pick up some of my slack as we have prepared to leave. Some men like women who are dainty, delicate flowers. I have no problem with that. I get the attraction. But not me. I’ve seen it time and time again over 36 years, my wife is as feminine as it gets, but in crunch time, she is a freaking boss. There’s nothing delicate or flower-like about her when there’s a job to be done. She can out-hustle, out muscle, and out work any five men I know. She is a relentless dynamo when the stakes are highest, the kind of person you want in your foxhole during a crisis. I am in awe of her grit and determination. And I’ve got to tell you...it’s quite sexy!

Ok, wish us luck as we brave the two day, hopefully no more than 14 hour trip. Hope to stay in a Homewood Suites somewhere near Hartford tonight, then head into Maine by tomorrow afternoon.

...Oh, a shoutout to my sweet sister, Paula, who came over for five minutes last night to wish us luck and drop by a couple of gifts for my kids. Paula has always done this sort of thing for Patrick and Kaitlin ever since they were born. Every time they were home on break from college she would always send them back to school with a $20 bill pressed into their hands. She loves them as if they were her own. I come from a family of such people, generous and loyal. Thanks so much, Sis. You know they adore you, right?