The other night I got into bed the same way I always do: Sit down, rub the soles of my feet together, swing my legs under the covers, reach for a book….

“What is that?” B asked with a chuckle.

“What is what?” I answered.

“That thing with the feet,” she clarified.

“Gets the dirt off,” I told her, “like when you swat your hands together.”

“Oh, yeah,” she said, nodding. “That makes sense.”

I paused and, after a moment’s reflection, asked, “I’ve been doing that for longer than we’ve been married. Have you been wondering what that was for twenty years and you haven’t asked until now?”

She had. Apparently this was the time to ask.

As I opened my inter-office mail yesterday morning I came across my termination notice and the paper I had to sign and send back to HR to make it official. My final day at the office is June 30, coincidentally the same day I signed papers to get out of the Air Force, get on a jet and fly to Madison.

Actually, as it turned out, the Air Force could get us no closer to Madison than Chicago. I had to rent a car to drive my family from O’Hare to Madison, no mean feat on the July 4th weekend. Here’s hoping things work out as well this time around.