Morning has bled into early afternoon, but I'm still in my PJ's so it counts. I'm alone with my dogs; Sarah and Lauren are on their way to Columbus so Lauren can spend her Christmas gift cards. They were kind enough to let me stay home to putter around the house and watch football. It's neat how Sarah's and my relationship has grown and changed since its beginning. When we first met and even when we first got married, we tried whenever possible to do everything together. It was even to the point where we said no to things because they meant being apart. Part of that was just a yearning to be with each other, but for me, at least, it was also a sense of insecurity. I had in the back of my head that if she was away from me too long, she might remember she liked life without me better. But now, though we try our hardest to schedule our time in a way that maximizes time together, we are becoming more comfortable with spending time separately, knowing that no matter how far apart we get physically, we are together spiritually (and electronically) and we will be together physically again soon. And I'm also becoming more comfortable with the idea that we need to have a chance to have lives of our own, including friends and hobbies that don't have to always involve each other. We are one, but one made of two individuals, not two carbon copies. And each of us has his or her own relationship with Lauren too. So it's okay--even necessary--to spend time on our own and for each of us to spend time with Lauren over and above time we spend as a whole family. Like today. The original plan was for all three of us to go together. But then I saw the schedule of college bowl games and asked that we schedule the trip so I could at least see the last game of the night. Sarah insisted it was perfectly fine to stay home and let Lauren and her have a girls' day. I was afraid she would feel like I was drifting away from her. She put my mind at ease by telling me she has no question that we're forever. Then she said something that struck me deeply. She said she knew we are a family forever because I was the piece that had been missing from their puzzle and when I came into her life, the puzzle was completed. They had had three pieces: Sarah, Lauren, and God. But the picture wasn't whole. Until I came along. That sounds egotistical, I fear, but I don't mean it to at all. I'm not special. But I was designed by my Creator to fit exactly into the puzzle that is Sarah and Lauren. They fill my gaps and I fill theirs. We make a whole family. But if any one of the pieces gets lost, the picture is incomplete again. We have to choose every single day to stay together and to keep God in the picture. And it's my favorite picture of all time, so I for one am going to do everything in my power to keep it whole.