Ah Hah CARRABBA You Are

I woke Wednesday morning at my usual 5:30am and started the day the same way I start every day – brush my teeth & pee. The coffee was already brewing as I made my way down the stairs as quietly as possible trying to avoid waking the kids or Mindy. It was still pretty dark and might as well have been midnight. I did my exercises then found Ykraps waiting patiently by the door for his morning walk. The morning’s weather was top notch as the sky began to lighten. The temperature hovered in the mid 60’s and the sky was clear. The day’s forecast called for mostly sunny skies and temperatures flirting with 90. I spent several quiet minutes on the deck in meditation with a cup of coffee in tow. I could’ve sat there for hours, I thought. But I had a day of work to prepare, so at 6:25am I returned inside to begin making my lunch and breakfast. I made tuna salad for my main lunch entrée, along with my usual salad, fruit, and nuts. For breakfast I made scrambled eggs and a plate of fruit. I enjoyed them both from the deck. It was just after 7:00am when I finished eating. Before heading upstairs, I poured Mindy a cup of coffee and took it to her in bed. She likes that. By the time I was settling into the shower, both children were in my bed with their momma watching cartoons. Mindy came downstairs as I made my final preparations before leaving. And just as I normally do, I played a few riffs on the guitar before finally heading out. I loaded the BM’er for work and opened the garage door only to find Mindy’s van parked on the drive in my path. I retuned inside to get her keys so I could move it. I sat my BM’er keys and cell phone on a moving box just inside the garage as I moved her van. When I returned, I was certain I grabbed both the keys and the phone then headed off to work. I was a beautiful drive. Once at work and settled in my office I realized that I didn’t have my cell phone. I looked through my gym bag and on my person (sometimes I’ll slide it into my front pants pockets). I wasn’t to be found. I grabbed the BM’er keys and headed out to the car to check there. I couldn’t find it still. After heading back to my office I called Mindy and asked for her help by checking the box and around the garage and home. No luck! I was frustrated but needed to head to a meeting. Just as I was leaving for the meeting it occurred to me that I had placed the phone in the console storage of the BM’er, which I rarely if ever do. Duh! I felt much, much better now. The meeting went well and so did the remainder of the morning. But we were very busy. I left from my run shortly after 11:30am since we had a 1PM staff meeting planned. It was only 85 degrees but with 47% humidity when I departed. Lucky for me, there was a stiff breeze coming out of the NW that cooled things a little. The afternoon went fast after my run and the staff meeting. We were involved in a few escalations that kept me at the office until nearly 5:30pm. Sometime during the hectic afternoon I talked with Mindy and made plans to visit Carrabba’s for dinner. Since I was leaving work so late and we’d have to be home by 8pm to greet the kids upon their return, I called Mindy to see if she could just met me there, probably saving us about 45 minutes. She was in favor of that idea given that she was driving and I was about to be. Carrabba’s was just about 2 miles from my office – right next to Home Depot. I arrived there at about 5:45pm and got us a table. By the time I had peed and returned to the table, Mindy arrived. We decided to share some Calamari, and I ordered the soup of the day and a salad. Mindy ordered some chicken dish. Everything was tasty, but nothing that could fairly be described as fantastic. In stead, it was just good. Mindy paid the tab. We had plenty of time so we decided to venture over to Home Depot to look at a few things. We were bent on finding some wire shelving drawer units much like the one I already have. By the look of it, Home Depot is phasing out the wire shelving business. They have relegated it to the back corner of the store in a much smaller space than before. My guess is that the entire craze is fading. We looked at some lighting options as well as a few other things. We left empty handed, however. Homeward! Once home, Mindy and I unloaded several boxes from her van that contained various items from her house. Most of the boxes were heavy and a few contained food items. While I walked Ykraps, Mindy began organizing the pantry, first by removing practically everything. When I returned and while she continued in the kitchen, I watered the backyard flowers. I noticed that the lawn is beginning to show sings of summer stress yet again – a sign that we need some rain. Lucky for us, there’s rain forecasted for tomorrow and early Friday. Jacob and Bella arrived home just after 8:10pm. Immediately they came outside to greet me. Bella asked to be sprayed wit the hose. I refused at first, but she kept insisting and even began walking into the flower beds just to enter the spray of the watering head. I eventually conceded and soaked her to her initial delight. Delight, however, quickly turned to tears. Suddenly she was paralyzed with despair but refused a beach towel brought to her by Jacoby. Nope – she wanted her mommy because she was “freezing”! She insisted that she couldn’t walk. I felt bad but kept watering the flowers just the same. She continued pouted and refused to go in or accept the towel. By then, Jacob wanted in the fray and ask me to soak him. I did. He likes the cold water shower. The difference was when he got cold, he went for a towel and went inside. Bella continued with her trademark stubbornness that only impacted her. After I was finished watering the flowers I wrapped her in a towel despite her insistence otherwise and carried her in to Mindy. She eventually calmed in her mother’s arms. Mindy whisked both kids up stairs for a bath, book, and bed. On queue, I headed upstairs to do the reading. We read another in the Disney series, this time about Dinosaurs and modern day ‘monsters’. When we finished up it was 8:45pm. A good 30 minutes later than their usual for their tuck-in time. After they were taken care of, I headed down stairs to tune into the Reds game on Fox Sports. Meanwhile, Mindy kept working on the kitchen pantry until she was done. When she finished she headed to the computer to check e-mail. Sadly, the Reds fell behind after leading 5–1. I was losing interest and getting sleepy. I dosed in the big chair for a short spell. When I woke up it was 9:59pm. The house was quiet. I checked the doors, lights, and garage then headed upstairs for bed. Mindy was just getting out of the shower when I jumped in bed and covered my head to block the invasive light. Within three minutes, however, Mindy was down and turned down the lights. We snuggled as we both drifted of to sleep.