Only 180 miles away ...

Mom and her beautiful Portland view.

Since there's nowhere an expecting husband would rather be than 180 miles away from his extremely pregnant wife, I'm just thrilled that I'm heading to Portland for the next few days on business. I'm going to make Leigh swear up and down that she won't go into labor while I'm gone; if she reneges on that promise, I'll be extremely disappointed with her.

Actually, as far as business trips go, my Portland trips have become vastly more enjoyable since my folks moved to Camas, Wash. - which, for the uninitiated, is right across the Columbia River from Portland and, thus, Oregon.

Not only is it great seeing the folks more often than, oh, once every year or so, but it's nice to see friendly faces at the end of the day, Mom's cooking humbles and destroys that of any local eatery, and their new house could be described as palatial and beautiful if those two words could be squared, multiplied against each other, encrusted with jewels, and dangled from a gold chain. It's, you know, a half step or two beyond what I'd get at the local Super 8. Their view of the Columbia River Gorge and Portland from the two-story deck is also something to behold - check out the photo.

We always have a lot of fun, but at the same time I'll be wondering about the goings-on with my beloved wife and the small human marinating head-down within her uterus.

Besides a potential birth, I will also be missing another important event. Derek and Rod will be staging a "Being Bobby Brown" TV marathon on Thursday - an event that I am deeply chagrined to miss. Grrr! Hiss! With all the garbage on TV, it pains me to miss out on one of today's more thoughtful and enriching options.

See you all in a few days.