First Day of School!

And so it begins... A journey through the American educational system. They'll likely be few of these moments while at school in front of the student body. He'll never live it down. I tossed and turned a few times through the night but still managed a rather restful night’s sleep. I woke again with a scratchy throat - a clear indication that I had either late summer allergies or what’s more likely – a minor cold. In conjunction with my scratchy throat, all of my limbs ached as if I had been doing strenuous yard work, which I hadn’t. It was 5:35am by the time I made my way to the kitchen. I found my walking shoes and quickly laid myself against the sofa to begin my sit-ups and push-ups. I willed myself to complete my workout and then found Ykraps to begin our day by taking our morning walk. The sky was dark but socked in with clouds. This was obvious by the absence of stars. It was humid and about 70 degrees. Even though the weather was somewhat summery, there was a tinge of autumn in the air. Maybe it was my imagination. But either way, I know that day is coming soon. It usually comes the first week or two of September. Two years ago it reared its ugly head the day before my grandmother died, and last year I think it was a week or two later. Last year we were blessed with an extended summer to be sure. I was comfortably boating well into October. The first cold snap hit the day of the Steve Weiss Charity golf outing. After our walk, Ykraps and I returned home where I made a hot cup of coffee. I enjoyed that coffee on the deck in silence alone with the crickets and cicadas. Today was Jacob’s first day of school. Soon his life as he knows it will be forever altered. His will be a little different in that he’ll have the benefit or curse (depending on how he looks at it) of riding to scho0ol with his mom and seeing her periodically through the day. It’s probably a good thing that this will carry only through his kindergarten year, because come the fourth, fifth, and sixth grade, a guy can get beat up for being the teacher’s kid. Soon I could hear both Mindy and Jacob upstairs stirring about. And soon they were both downstairs getting ready for that very special day where a little boy becomes more of a man. I could tell that Mindy was equally as excited about this day. He had his camouflage lunch box crammed full of goodies. His mother was doting all over him. Damn! After making breakfast for Mindy and I, she readied to leave by 7:15am. But not before I managed to snap a couple of pictures that could very likely live on in infamy. I would have called in late to attend the school but Jacob’s father was doing so and I didn’t want to dampen anyone’s experience. Mindy took her digital camera along too. Mindy waited until the final minute to wake Bella for the trip to Grandma Sharon’s (not their grandmother – just her nick name). When Bella looked up at her mommy form the potty Mindy shrilled at the swollen eye Bella was sporting. I went to get a look myself. All the fuss got Bella going. She burst into tears and Mindy fell all over herself about it. I gestured to Mindy to instead down play it. She quickly got the hint and tempered her surprise. Bella calmed quickly. As I hoped into the shower, they all left. I had a peaceful house for the next twenty minutes. I dressed nicely for work and pulled out the drive myself around 7:35am. In turn, I arrived to work early by about ten minutes. I needed all of those minutes to reacquaint myself with my own office since I had spent the last two weeks working out on the floor with my team members. Work went rather well but we were busy, of course. The morning just flew by. Sometime mid-morning the rain began to come down and it continued up and through my run. I had to run in the rain. The temperature barely topped 70 degrees against a steady down pour. The rain was fairly warm, however. It felt good to have the rain against my skin through the entire run. By the time I had finished I was soaked. And at least temporarily, the cold/allergy symptoms had subsided. Back at my desk I ate while I worked. I spent the remainder of the afternoon working at a frantic pace. It always seems to get that way come quitting time. I found my way out of the office sometime near 5:10pm and made my way home without any stops. At home it would be a quiet evening with just Mindy and I. She was already walking Ykraps when I gave her a call. And when I got home she was finishing up some laundry and cleaning up what little mess was left around the house. We wasted little time deciding on dinner. We ate the leftover burgers from the night before. In fact, we were completely done with dinner by 6:15pm. After dinner, I played a little guitar while Mindy tended to some school papers. I think that she was doing some grading, although I am not certain of that. What I was certain of was my desire for a nap. So, I threw two pillows on the floor and took a nooner. It felt wonderful. After about 20 minutes or so I rose as I heard the front door open. It was only 6:40pm but the kids were already back from an evening with their dad. That was about one hour or so early. The kids were in a good mood and shared stories about their day. Mindy bribed them upstairs for an early bath and pajama party. I spent the time updating my blog. After their pajamas wee on, I joined them upstairs for story time. We finished the Disney counting book. After the reading I helped tuck them in and headed back downstairs. Again, I grabbed my guitar and played softly for about thirty minutes or so. Mindy joined me on the sofa for the eventual beginning of Monday Night Football. Tonight’s game featured the Bengals and Packers. The Bengals after only about three bad plays destroyed the packers in every phase of the game. Carson Palmer and company looked terrific. At one point with 2 minutes remaining until halftime, the Bengals lead 31-0. At about 9:30pm Mindy and I headed to bed with the promise of watching part of the second half from bed. And as she often does, Mindy wrestled the remote from my hands at the first snore. Tonight I didn’t fight it.