Free On or Free Off

Boy, did 5:30 ever come around quickly! I didn’t feel completely slept, but then again I only snagged about 6.75 hours sleep. That's a half a pint shy. Couple that with another A/C-less night and that adds up to restlessness. My A/C has needed some work for the past couple of years. It needs a new A-coil, which my step-brother, Kenny was supposed to replace on two different occasions. He came out two years ago and got all the data he needed, and to tie me over, he refilled the coolant which got me through the rest of that summer and last. Having not fired it up this year, I really don’t know if it will run efficiently but doubt that it will. I’ve since given up on Kenny and instead have asked my neighbor, Mike, who is a fireman, but does HVAC on the side, if he’d do the work. He said he would. It was shaping up to be another warm and humid summer preview day. It was already 70 degrees at 5:45am. Simply walking Ykraps provided plenty of evidence to support that it was going to be another hot one. I was still feeling a little unsettled and off-center about the handful of issues needing immediate repair or attention suddenly. But more than that, I am feeling even more overwhelmed due to the needs of certain family members that are counting on me for some financial help. When it rains it pours. Honestly, I’ve never been good at accepting the costs associated with breakdowns. It just seems so wasteful and unfair. I have worked hard too buy the items and I guess I expect them to last a long time without any need for repair. For example, replacing three windshields in three years is a bit much, don’t you think? There are those that tell me if you’re going to have toys, you’re going to have up keep expenses. Makes sense, just don’t like the way they seem to creep up all at once. One of the people needing/requesting some help is my mother. I’m not sure what exactly she needs but I will be finding out. I do know that she has a tendency to spend beyond her means then seek out help. That frustrates me. For example, she’s bought new furniture a number of times over the last ten years and has had about three or four different cars. One would think she’d be a bit more frugal and instead take great care of the one she has. Honestly, that in no small part contributed to the demise of her marriage to my father. The other person requesting some help is my daughter Lindsey. What she’s asking of me is a bit more complicated. She’s very needy and often times looks first to what others can do for her before looking inside to determine what she might do for herself. Lindsey, I think, just needs to get a sniff of some sustained success and then she’ll be fine. To help shape my entire day and to put my mind at ease, I did my morning mediation on the deck just as the morning was unfolding. Add to that, after prepping my lunch, I enjoyed my scrambled eggs and fruit from the deck just as the sun was coming up over the roof tops. I had my camera with me too. I won’t kid anyone, I still felt as though I had a rock in my tummy. However, I know all to well that the only thing that fixes it is facing the world and the issues head on. This I will do! I prepped for work and headed out the door at 7:30am sharp. I got down the road only about three houses when I realized my laptop wasn’t with me. A quick return to right the wrong and I was once again on my way. I talked with Mindy as I so often do along my way to work. She’s so lucky. She has only one more get-up before heading into an 11 week hiatus. Can you imagine? What are the options to afford myself such luxury? I need to determine what they are and then weigh the pros and cons. Think of the possibilities! I arrived at work with a Monday kind of mindset. No, not so. It was more of a after vacation mindset. Do you know the feeling? It’s when you look around at all the people and ask yourself who are these people and why are they so uptight. And what’s all this email about? The whole exercise seems a bit pointless and futile. What am I working for or towards? This is a classic case of not taking enough vacation time. But thankfully, I have a week’s vacation coming up in just over two weeks. Work went OK for my first day back. Aside from the countless work related issues, I called my auto insurance company to get my windshield issue moving along. Bottom line, it’ll be addressed tomorrow while I work. I left for my run at 12:15pm. It was already 87 degrees and sunny with about 50% humidity. The heat index was 94 degrees. That’s by no means killer, but definitely high for May and my unadjusted body. I held up quite well for the conditions, but certainly noticed the staggering humidity. It didn’t hurt too that there was a sizable breeze blowing. I was soaked when finished, and a bit anxious to get back inside to the comfortable A/C. I retuned to my office with the expressed goal of eating my packed lunch, and perhaps more importantly, setting up interviews to fill open positions. That I did. The afternoon was fiercely busy. There was no let up in sight, but that’s just how it is this time of year. Despite the chaos, I managed to leave for the day at 5:20pm. A call to Mindy revealed that she was just pulling up at my house after leaving a retirement party held for some departing teachers. Her plans called for a quick visit, then a shower, and then departing for her nephew’s graduation ceremony at Vets Memorial. I would be addressing my lawn. We carried out our plan until 630pm when she left for the graduation. Before getting busy on the lawn, I took a nap, something I haven’t done at home after work in a long, long time. I grabbed my book and cuddled up in my reading chair. Ten minutes later I was sound asleep and slept for a good 30 minutes. I woke at 7:15pm and got crackin’ on the lawn. I did a good job and took my time with each aspect of taking care of the lawn. My blower continues to be a problem. I think I’m just going to bite the bullet and replace it again. Screw it! After putting the finishing touches on the lawn, I got out my new sprinkler intent on watering the front lawn and flowers. With all the hot steamy weather of late my petunias are looking a little stressed. They’d normally mange fine under such conditions, but that’s after a period of acclimation. They prefer to be nudged slowly towards the hot and steamy instead of being placed directly in it. I finished at 9:15pm, almost two full hours after beginning. I felt good about what I had accomplished. I went immediately for the shower to wash away the grime of the yard. I find it very irritating having bits of grass and dirt about my legs and arms, especially since it only aggravates my poison ivy. Mindy called just as I was getting in the shower to let me know that she was on her way back from the graduation already. Fast and Efficient she reported. She was going stop at Kroger to pick me up some lettuce, strawberries, and broccoli first. She arrived within ten or fifteen minutes. She stayed just long enough to view some of the many photos we took over the long holiday weekend. I got some real good ones! She left around 10pm. I spent the next hour updating my blog and then went to bed. I was tired.