There’s been quite a disruption in the Biese household in Lima, Ohio. We used to be the highlight of Kelly’s day – and she fed us treats and gave us all the attention we desired. Kelly goes to a school every day and does something called “social work” with middle school kids. We’re not sure why she has to do it in the middle of the school, but she loves social working with kids in that part of the school. Many days she comes home and tells us about her day. We don’t necessarily listen, but it feels nice to know she trusts us. We also enjoy her family visits from this place called Wisconsin.

Ever since March, however, Kelly seems distracted. She spends every evening talking to her computer screen instead of us, and it even talks back!! I suppose that’s why she prefers the computer to us. And every weekend she either disappears unexpectedly, or some strange man comes and takes all of her attention. No matter how hard we try to distract Kelly, she just pats us on the head and turns her attention back to this guy. Don’t get me wrong, he is nice to us and sometimes gives us treats, but we don’t appreciate him taking her attention away from us!! They spend time just talking – and we enjoy eavesdropping – so we learn the story of this guy who she named, “Mike”. We learned that Kelly’s computer that talks back to her every night is also named Mike because that’s how she addresses the computer screen while conversing.

Mike lives in some strange place called Kalamazoo, Michigan and says something about being a physical therapist. We’re not sure what that means, but it sounds important. Mike helped Kelly when she had back surgery, so he must be a good guy. And he spent two years in something called the “Navy”, where he lived on a big boat and graciously volunteered with new sailor orientation by assigning newbies to find the keys to the “divisional doors” and cans of “bulkhead remover”. It sounds pretty “fishy” to us – because neither exist – but Kelly seems impressed.

There are several weekends where Mike brings a sweet older lady with him—his mother. She isn’t able to talk much, and needs help walking, but we sure love having her visit because she gives us all the scratches and belly rubs we want! We must make her happy, because she smiles an awful lot! We love her company even though she says, “Go Blue”, and we cheer for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

And regarding Mike, at first we weren’t sure about him. But there must be something special about him, because ever since Kelly met Mike, she sings more often. And even when Kelly comes home sad from a challenging day, she glows when she opens her computer.

Back in July, Kelly came home with this really shiny thing on her finger. She holds it to light for friends and photographs. She says it is a gift from Mike. And now Kelly speaks often about a gal named Marry. We’re not quite sure who Marry is, but they sure talk a lot about Marry.

Anyways, they plan to meet this gal, Marry, in March at a church in the place called Wisconsin. It sounds like an adventure – and Kelly says we aren’t allowed to attend – but assures us we’ll see Mike every day after they meet Marry.