Crossing a Threshold

A rainy morning I woke in the middle of the night once again. It was approximately 3:00am. I had to pee and my sinuses ached and were stuffy. I pee’d, blew my nose, and took two Advil then jumped back into bed. I fought off the urge to get up even though for a few minutes I felt unable to fall back asleep. Finally, I past that imaginery threshold. Next thing I knew it was 5:40am. I was quick out of bed and downstairs getting after my exercises. Thunder rumbled across the sky, which was preceded by a few colorful lightning flashes. In an instant, I could hear little feet scurrying through the hallway. The storm woke them and they joined Mindy in bed. It was raining once again. We can’t seem to shake this turbulent weather pattern we’ve lived in since last Sunday, but who’s counting. As I went through my routine I could hardly believe that it was Thursday already – a week away from TG Day. The realization that my vacation is practically upon me and the beginning of the Xmas season began to take hold. I’m ready! In what’s becoming old hat, Ykraps and I headed out into the rainy morning. We took a different route than usual. He appreciates that as much as I like to shake up my run route from time to time. When we returned I toweled him off as I often do after a drenching to minimize the shakings that typically splatter the walls. I began making coffee for Mindy and I. In a bit of a twist, Mindy came downstairs to get her coffee since she was awakened by the kids, who were now romping around in our bed watching a video. As we sipped our coffee the kids began to squabble over the video and ended up in trouble. Always a little hard to take at 6am! Soon things quieted down and Mindy returned upstairs to get a shower. I continued making breakfast and packing our lunches. Before long, everyone was back downstairs ready to depart for the day. I headed up to get my own shower. I enjoyed the quiet of the house in everyone’s absence. I spent a little time playing guitar and laying out more vacation packings. All of my ski gear is accounted for, plus I verified that we I still have two patches for our use – a must as we ascend into the mountains. Comfortable with what I achieved, I left for work a little after 8am. I arrived by 8:20am and got myself involved in all the activity quickly. Needless to say, I worked hard! I didn’t come up for air until almost run time, which came at 12:45pm. By then the rain had subsided and temperature was a rather mild 53 degrees. I made a mental note of the sun’s position which was obscured by clouds yet obvious. It’s much lower in the sky these days. Duh! After my speedy return, I gobbled my lunch (turkey too!). I spent the afternoon trying to clear my to-do list prior before going on vacation. I even recorded my vacation away message and drafted my out-of-office email so all I have to do tomorrow is push a few buttons. Sure as day, 5pm rolled around quickly. I left the office somewhere near 5:15pm. I called Mindy before leaving my parking spot and she & the kids requested I bring pizzas home for dinner as long as it sounded good to me. I obliged and even placed our pick-up order before hitting the gas. It was drizzling again when I arrived at Minelli’s. Our pizzas were just coming out of the oven. Perfect! More often than not, there are familiar faces sitting in the dining room. Tonight I noticed the Ruby’s. They live or lived in the Westmoor Place subdivision that I once lived in some 40+ years ago, and had two sons (David and Doug) that Glenn and I went to school with. We didn’t speak, but I could tell that they recognized the familiarity in my eyes too. As soon as I got home with the pies I leashed up Ykraps for our walk. We took somewhat of an abbreviated stroll but just enough for him to do his business. We didn’t bother grabbing the umbrella. At least wit hall the recent rain, Ykraps knows the return routine well. I don’t allow him off the leash until we’re in and he’s been toweled off. I could smell the delicious pizza waiting. I woofed down several pieces of pepperoni and a couple cheese. After dinner the kids were sent to the basement to play while Mindy finished some laundry and packing. Not does she need to pack for our trip, she has to pack the kids for their stays with Grandma and then with Jim. And in what seems almost ridiculous, she packs the kids stuff for Jim in labeled bags for each day. I found my way to the reading chair where I slowly drifted off to sleep, and it was only like 6:45pm. I was woken by the cries of Jacob being sent to his room. Apparently, he was tormenting Bella and eventually kicked her. Mindy had heard and seen enough. Jacob’s night was officially over despite profuse begging and many apologies. After calming, Mindy slipped upstairs with the dreaded spoon to dole out some corrective action. I stayed up for a few and even updated my blog for the past two days. I went upstairs to tuck in Bella – Jacob was already asleep. I went back downstairs and returned to my chair where I read and again fell asleep. I woke a couple of times but slept there until almost 10pm. Eventually, I leaped to my feet and headed towards our bed. Mindy followed. For lots of reasons, I was thoroughly exhausted!