he gets his own post

You've seen him before, my 13-year-old brother. Like here:

I love this picture of him. What a great day that was.

So you might be wondering why Micah's getting an entire post dedicated to him. A big part of the reason is that I was gently awakened at 11:48 last night by the meticulous sounds of someone very gingerly unloading the dishwasher. When I went into the kitchen, Micah met me and put his hands over my face.

"Don't look," he kept saying. "Just go back to bed."

I tried to tell him not to stay up too late on a school night. He said "alright" and then insisted I go back to bed, which I did.

When we got up this morning, the house was spotless. And I don't mean in a just-picked-up kind of way. I mean, the table was clean (he'd been building a catapault there the past week), the kitchen counters were wiped and everything straightened .....

.... the shoes were lined up by the front door ....


.... and even the magazines were evenly spaced as I like them ....

.... and all the while, the kitten he rescued from his school's campus was dancing at my feet.

Now you know why he gets his own post. He cleans, he rescues animals, he loves football. And he still sits with me in the recliner while we watch The Biggest Loser.

I love him.