The handsome boy has had some time pass. We sit together on the couch, ten days before his 14th birthday. He stands up, then promptly falls into the perfect spot for an arm rest beside me. I don't think it was intentional but I'll take it. I softly pet his head. I know yesterday we had a long walk in the woods with his two sisters and maybe that was a bit too much for him, but he sure seemed happy along the way. I lay next to him in the afternoon, taking a break from my work day and I tell him it's ok to have tough days. I have them too. There are some days I have to just sit in the hammock and stare at the sky because my legs don't work and I have no energy to lift my body about. Much has changed since 2011 when I brought his little chubby self home. Little would either of us know, we'd move an additional seven times, eventually add another human to our life, and then, a little sister, another little sister and the finally promised fenced back yard with a dog door. We didn't know I'd get sick and have intermittent issues with walking. We didn't know I'd become a director of IT and then eventually work from home. We did know that I asked him to live till I was 40. I am 40 this year. He held up his side of the bargain.