Cleaning House

T-minus 12 days.

If it weren't for the next exciting chapter of our lives waiting less than two weeks away, I think Lindsay and I would be hatin' the hours of cleaning and packing we've jumped into over the past few days. It's been nutso around here. But, as we've found with all big projects, there IS, in fact, a brilliant light at the end of the tunnel.

Our intended route across the country is planned. I-90, which streaks across Illinois, South Dakota, Wyoming into Montana, Idaho, then clear across Washington, is it. We plan on bee-lining it from Maine to Chicago in one long day, possibly taking about 17 hours to drive. Luckily, our good friend, Jim, will have a warm place for us to sleep in. From there, we haven't exactly decided upon our next stop off: Either Devil's Tower in Wyoming or Spearfish Canyon/Custer State Park in South Dakota...you'll her more later about our second leg of the journey.

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It is pretty sad bidding a "farewell" to friends. We'll miss everyone for the next year, but we'll also be spending time with other friends we haven't been able to see in quite a while or frequently. Most of all, though, Lindsay and I will be spending time with one another. After a very long 7 months of being in separate places in neighboring states, we'll finally be co-habitating under the same roof again. I woke up this morning and, again, smiled....not because Mabel was weaseling her way onto the bed, or because the sun was shining in our bedroom window, but because Lindsay was lying there, sound alseep next to me.