The End ... The Beginning

Thursday morning came quickly. I was up at 5:30am like I planned. My immediate thoughts turned to Mindy whom I knew would already be up and stirring about. The big day had finally arrived after many agonizing months of toil. Today would be the official end to her eight year marriage in the courts eyes. She has been on cloud nine since receiving word lat Tuesday that this would be the day. Me, I went about my morning business as usual. When I went to send Mindy an electronic morning greeting, she had already sent one to me. However, it didn't come as much of a surprise given her heightened level of excitement. I remember my divorce day. It was July 27, 1998. For many of us, this day is like our re-birth. It represents the end of a long arduous journey that contains many undesireable yet necessary obstacles to overcome. Typically, the emotion of loss and sadness is missing from this day. For those feelings have long since passed. By this time, most are extremely excited about the porspects of moving on to the next chapter in their lives. My sense is that Mindy is feeling that way today. I left for work at about 7:45am - a little later than desired but still I made it there on time. Mindy left a voice mail for me around 8:20am on her way into her attorney's office. She was so excited that her voice was quivering. I didn't hear from her again until about 9:38am. Her day in court was already complete! To say that she was overly stimulated is an understatement to be sure. She reported that she did in fact follow through with my request to get a picture of the two of them (see pic). The rest of morning went smoothly. Come 12:30pm I went for my run. The early sunny skies and warm temperatures gave way to somethign less. Now it was gray and the temp had dropped considerably from the morning high of about 51 degrees. It was some where around 45 now and still dropping. Not to worry though. The run went well. I listened to the "daily special" on WOSU-FM 89.7. The afternoon went well too. Before I knew it, it was time to head for home. I had a number of chores I wanted to complete before heading out. On my way to Mindy's, around 7:00pm, I stopped at Kroger and picked up a card and some flowers to help celebrate her new found freedom. When I arrived she was just getting the kids ready for bed. I helped. Too, I whipped up some tortilla pizzas. After the kids were settled into bed we returned downstairs to enjoy the pizza and American Idol. I hadn't seen any of the shows since the final qualifying round from Austin, Texas. It was funny and entertaining. Tired, we soon headed to her room where we both fell asleep. I woke around 11pm and headed for home. I knew that by being out this late that I'd be tired come morning, but at least I didn't partake in any alcohol. Just asI pulled into my garage I received a call from Mindy with Bella crying hysterically wanting to talk with me. I think she was still half asleep. Either way, it was cute. She told me that she loved me and gave the phone back to her mommy.