Coffee in bed

left to right: Courtney, Lindsey, me, and Ashley I found my way out of bed just about my usual rise time. I was downstairs and beginning my morning workout before 5:45am. I felt a little off center, tired, and perhaps even a little stressed. I wasn’t sure if it was the tough week, running in the extreme heat, or perhaps even the cold that Jacob had. Either way, I felt some discomfort. That discomfort began to wane as I worked my way through my morning routine. By the time I had finished walking Ykraps and had sipped my first cup of coffee, I began feeling much better. I meditated, sent Mindy a warm email (she loves getting those form me still) and went about packing my lunch and making my breakfast. It was 7:10am by the time I finished eating and headed upstairs for a shower. I dropped Mindy’s cup of coffee at her bedside. She remained asleep and didn’t even budge. I chose not to wake her. I knew that she wasn’t feeling up to par either. As I flossed and brushed my teeth I contemplated staying home and attending Tiffany’s funeral with the family. In the end, however, I chose to go to work, feeling like I had closed the loop, so to speak, last evening. I woke Mindy just as I was ready to head downstairs. Soon, both children were up and heading down with us too. And in what has become somewhat routine, we all went out on the deck and I played guitar while we all visited. I hung out for an extra few minutes and we exchanged hugs several times. I left for work close to 7:50am. I worked hard all morning but still managed to take care of a couple of things for Mindy. I made sure that we had an appliance dolly and furniture pads for our move on Saturday, and then I found a secure storage unit available close by where we could store most of the appliances and furniture that we wouldn’t be using for the foreseeable future. This, we agreed, would make the move easier as well as finishing the basement simpler since we wouldn’t have to work around so much clutter. And besides, the basement is already full of ‘stuff’. That was a relief to both of us. Mindy agreed to go by the storage unit this afternoon to secure the deal and pick-up the keys. I left for my run somewhere close to 11:30pm. It was measurably cooler today, but still quite summery. It was only 84 degrees, but the humidity was higher. The humidity was over 70%. The sun was shining brightly on the run out and that made it just as intense as the days prior. But lucky for me, the sun dipped behind some thickening clouds for the last couple of miles. That made all the difference, not having the sun beating down on my neck and back. I was very thirsty and had cotton mouth by the time I made it back. That’s rare due to all the water I drink. After my run I left immediately for Saturday’s Hair Salon at Tuttle Mall. I needed a haircut. I decided that Saturday’s does a much better job than the folks at First Choice, certainly justifying the five dollar difference in price. And since they’ve opened the new round-about at Britton and Hayden Run, quick access to Tuttle has been restored. As I had hoped, the salon was empty when I arrived. They got me right in and made rather quick work of my cut. The young lady cutting my hair had an odd sense of humor and many times I couldn’t understand what she was saying, but hey, she was the one holding the scissors! I just listened and laughed! Hah-Hah-Hah – (whatever)! She offered gel for my short bristly hair after she finished. I added some and she added even more. This stuff was sticky! I tipped her well just as I usually do and was soon on my way back to work. Back at work I got cracking on several issues, including eating my lunch. I left for a meeting around 2:30pm that lasted up until 4pm. The rest of the day flew by. I had some engineers that wanted to talk so I ended up sticking around until almost 5:30pm. I didn’t get home until 5:50pm. Mindy had a load in her van but had carried most in on her own. I carried in the sofa table. We walked Ykraps together and got caught up on each others day. Once back, Mindy left to pick-up the kids at her niece’s home. I gave serious consideration to grabbing a nap, but instead went straight to the basement to begin the dreaded organizational project. I have allowed so much clutter to accumulate over the years, never attempting any kind of order beyond just knowing about where everything is. Plus, I’ve saved practically every box known to mankind. Each passing project would leave behind a new pile of remnants. I made some serious progress in about an hour. I created a serious trash pile as well as a charity pile and consolidated several tools, hardware, miscellaneous items into significantly fewer containers. In the end, I cleared a fairly large area for more storage. I still have a quadrant of the basement to go through before I’ll feel done, but progress is progress. When Mindy returned she asked me to stop and come read to the kids. It was hard to stop once I had mustered so much momentum, but I understand that their stability and routine is far more important. Still, that didn’t mean I liked stopping! My personality is such that I don’t like to stop. I can get very focused and determined, even to a fault! More often than not, however, that trait serves me well, whether it’s at school, work, or home. After finishing the Disney story and helping tuck in the kids, I returned to the basement for a few finishing touches. By now it was 9pm. I was fading fast. Back upstairs I checked on the Reds (they were losing again) and popped myself some popcorn for dinner. Come 10pm I headed up to bed where Mindy already was lying down. We talked for a few before going to sleep. Mindy felt it necessary to explain why she wanted me to stop working and put the kids needs first. She was right, but that’s not always inherent Jimmy behavior. I was asleep by 10:40pm.