Happy (early) 20th Birthday Ash!!

I popped out of bed Sunday morning feeling like a million dollars. I woke initially at around 530am (go figure) but opted for a little more sleep, so I didn’t get up for good until 7:40am. Mindy spent the night but chose, as I knew she would, to sleep a little longer. I told her that I’d check on her after my workout, walk, and run. After whipping out my exercises Ykraps and I went for our usual walk. While it was chilly, the sky was clear and the birds were chirping. Unlike most winters, we’ve had a vast assorted of song birds stick around this winter making for musical morning walks, especially when it’s sunny! After our walk Ykraps and happily returned home for some coffee and meditation. Ykraps likes to go to that quiet place where he can reflect on his being and take pleasure in nature. I journaled for a spell then found my way to my running clothes where I prepared myself for the daily run. Before departing I took Mindy a cup of coffee (the things we do for love!). I don’t even allow myself to drink coffee in my bedroom. That’s how I have managed to keep my white carpeting so fit for twelve years. The run went very well despite there being a cold wind blowing out of the north. Instead of focusing on the chilly wind, I focused on the warm sunshine! Before I knew it, I was facing the home stretch. It was now about 10:20am. I next took to a few household chores, but nothing too big. Shortly there after I heard Mindy begin to stir and ultimately make her way down stairs. After some coffee and conversation we decided to make some breakfast. We made sausage and French toast. The French toast was made with a fresh loaf of Sweet French bread from the Wal-Mart bakery. We sliced it about one inch thick! It turned out nicely. After breakfast I took a phone call from daughter Ashley where we buttoned down plans for her to visit mid-afternoon with the intended purpose of signing up for Spring quarter classes and celebrating her 20th birthday early since both Mindy and I will be out of town Friday, the 17th, her official b-day. Ashley arrived sometime around 1:30pm. We signed up for her classes in quick order. Essentially, she signed up for the next classes in her current sequence (I.E. Math, English, Science). We returned to the kitchen where we talked about lots of different things before placing 20 candles on her chocolate tort birthday cake and singing Happy Birthday! Ashley left for home at about 2:50pm, and Mindy left around 3:00pm destined for her mothers. I used the time between then and 4:00pm to read and sneak in yet another nap. As usual, I would be heading to Mindy’s mom’s for dinner and leaving my house around 4:00pm. At 3:45pm I woke and quickly readied myself for Gloria’s. I arrived at Gloria’s home right on schedule, 4:45pm. I gave her a Valentine’s gift in hopes of brightening her day. By 5:00pm, all of Mindy’s siblings arrived. But just before we sat down to eat, an older gentleman, I think his name was Vic, showed up with some goodies for Gloria. He was 87 years of age yet looked no worse for the wear. And he certainly seemed to get around pretty daggone well. He was reported to be a friend of the family, but I got the idea he had the hots for Mindy’s mom. I was a little surprised he wasn’t asked to stay for dinner. He soon moved on down the road, and we moved into the dining room to sit for dinner. This evening’s spread consisted of spaghetti, pork chops, garlic bread, cucumber salad, and mashed potatoes and gravy. For dessert there were ice-box cookies and pecan pie. Everything was scrumptious! After dinner everyone scattered to their favorite comfort spots around the house. Suddenly, I found myself alone, albeit briefly, with Gloria in the kitchen. That’s when she turned to me and said, “can I ask you a question?”. “Of course”, I replied. She further clarified by saying I didn’t have to answer if I didn’t want to, but went on to ask me, “do you love Mindy, or might it be infatuation?”. I could tell by her tone and the look in her eye that it was more than just a curious question. Instead, it was one of concern for her baby and one she’d likely been contemplating asking me for sometime. I paused only for a moment then responded that I did, and did very much. She went on only to tell me that Mindy’s been through a lot. Of course, all of this took place in less than a minute’s time. Mindy soon came into the kitchen as our short conversation ended. I felt just a little awkward, but at the same time understood her question being the father of three young-adult girls! Soon Mindy and I were gathering our things to head home. Because I had walked Ykraps ahead of time, I had no need to go immediately home. I would head to Mindy’s for a while. Jacob chose to ride with me, which was a first. Once at Mindy’s we unloaded her car and immediately began readying her kids for bed. That didn’t take too long. They were in bed by 8:00pm. We gathered on the sofa and tuned into the Olympic games for about an hour. We got to see some of the short track racing and snow boarding competition, both pretty cool! Shortly after 9:00pm I headed for home. Once home battened down the hatches and headed almost immediately to bed. I did, however, do some reading before falling asleep.