EDITOR’S NOTE: I’m pushing this week’s Miley update back a bit.

Exactly eleven months ago right now, Chris the Grouch and I spent all night walking around Boston looking back on the Celtics’ 17th NBA Championship. It was a memorable night, one that I’ll never forget.  I’ll always think of that night when I pass places we passed that night in the city.  It happens pretty often because we walked almost everywhere that night.

Similarly, last night the Celtics season ended. Last year, I walked out of the Garden smoking a cigar. This year due to a mis-communication, I walked out alone left to ponder the fate of the 2008-2009 Celtics. With seconds left, I left my seat because I didn’t want to see the Magic celebrate on our floor – a floor that has become symbolic of athletic excellence in the pantheon of Boston sports and the NBA as a whole.

As much I was able to soak in the very end of Bruins defeat, I couldn’t stay and watch the last few seconds of the end of Celtics’ season. I didn’t want to remember them that way. I wanted to remember how they played in one of the most exciting playoff series ever (in any sport) against the Bulls. I wanted to remember how they fought and fought and fought, even though they were undermanned. I wanted to remember them for the good season they had, not for the unhappy ending we had just seen.

Over the past few years, when I entered the Garden, I usually took the same route to my seat. Same entrance, same escalator and same path. Each time, I would pass an older gentleman, in front of the same souvenir store. His job was to stand there and wave people into the store during both Celtics and Bruins games. Each time I passed him, I would give him a fist-bump. He was my lucky charm and more often than not, it worked. The few times I was in the Garden and forgot to fist-bump him, it always felt awkward.

I’ve fist-bumped that guy over thirty times over the past few years and he never said anything to me until tonight. I often wondered if he even recognized me. Tonight during our fist bump, he actually spoke.  He said, “I hope to see you Sunday,” meaning that he hoped the Celtics would win and would be hosting Game Three of the Eastern Conference Finals against Cleveland. Chris was impressed that he knew when the next game would (theoretically) be.

After I got separated from Chris, I decided to take a quick walk over to the old man’s store to see if his duties included postgame as well. He was there and I approached him, shook his hand and said, “Two good seasons. We’ll see you next year.” He smiled and wished me a nice summer.

As I walked to my car, I thought about what he said. Summer was here. Last year, when the season ended, I walked out into a celebratory mob on a warm June night that didn’t want to go home. This year, there was a chill in the air and the crowd wasn’t celebrating, but fleeing like burglars from a crime scene. Everyone just wanted to get the hell out of there.

The walk back to my car took me through the North End, one of my favorite parts of the city. I parked over there because Chris and I grabbed dinner in the North End before the game. As I walked down those quiet and crooked streets, my sadness over the loss turned to happiness as I replayed the events of the day in my mind.

Yesterday was a really good day. It started with a trip to my cousin’s house. Most of my local relatives were there including another cousin and his family from New Jersey. I ended up staying over there longer than I had originally planned (sorry Miley!) because I was having such a great time. At one point, I looked around at all of their smiling faces, the kids playing with each other, and realized how lucky I was. Yeah, I may have lost my job recently, but while jobs come and go, the people in your life that truly love you will always be there.

No matter what.

I will remember May 17^th 2009 as a great day, not as a sad day. It was a great day because I got to spend most of it with the people that matter most. As I left my cousin’s house, I told myself it was already a wonderful day no matter how the Celtics did in the upcoming game.

And you know what?

I was right.