The Final Cut Has Come

The Final Cut & 4000th photo Canon PS-S2IS I woke by 8:00am after a solid nine hours of sleep. I felt rested but still a little groggy. And for whatever reason, I wasn’t in the best of moods either. I proceeded to complete my exercise routine with kids hanging off my body. Bella whipped out a series of push-ups right along side me. I walked Ykraps under a cloudy sky and milder temperatures. I returned home for some much anticipated coffee and relaxation. Mindy was already started on her report cards, Bella was in our bed watching a movie, and Jacob was on my PC. I was a little miffed to find Jacob on my PC since I planned and was looking forward to spending an hour or so catching up on football scores, stories, and email. What’s worse, he was attempting to download games which I don’t have any desire to have on my PC in the first place. In fact, I don’t like anything to be downloaded on my PC by anyone else. In hindsight I probably should have asked him to find something else to do. Instead, I stewed over it. I wasn’t happy about it at all. With nothing to do and nowhere to go, I chose to ready for my run a bit early. I left for my run around 9:30am. I enjoyed my alone time. I was still a little angry, however, even after I returned. After all, my routine was spoiled. My plan for the day included nothing more than yard work. I hoped to cut the grass for what might be the final cut. We had a moderate cover of leaves too, which I figured would mulch up nicely provided they were dry enough. Mindy chose to go shopping and take Bella. Jacob asked to stay behind with me to work in the yard. Once they were gone I think he was a little sorry that he elected to stay back. He seemed surprised and hurt that I was going to cut the grass. He really wanted to ride his bike without training wheels. I told him he could ride but with training wheels while I cut the lawn. He didn’t care for that. In the end, he chose to go inside and watch TV while I cut the lawn. I chose not to trim or edge since the grass hasn’t grown that much after several recent freezes. However, it’s still very thick and green. I cut the entire lawn in a little more than an hour. Just as I had hoped, the leaves mulched up nicely, although to make that happen I had to make multiple passes in the back. As I finished up, the kids came out hoping to get a tractor ride. I obliged. We linked up the trailer and took a ride down the street and back through the yard. They really seemed to enjoy it. After a long ride we returned to play a little t-ball since Jacob had been asking to do so for a couple of days. Soon, Bella bored with the t-ball and disappeared into the house. Jacob and I played ball for about an hour. He hits off the tee and via the pitch equally well. We used a tennis ball so I let a few pitches rip. He got a hold of a few and sent the ball two yards over. He’s a natural, but he does need to work on his catching and throwing. By the time we went inside it was almost 3pm. I took a small nap all the while the Bengals game played out on the TV. Come 3:30pm I got up to take a shower and ready for Gloria’s. Mindy commented that Gloria had some things she wanted us to do for her today, however she didn’t know what. We left for her house just before 4pm. When we arrived most everyone else was already there. We noticed right away that there was a large pile of tree mulch left where a large maple once stood. I have a hard time understanding why one would chop down a perfectly healthy mature tree. After saying hello to everyone Mindy and I headed outside to place the ground-up tree stump in lawn bags. This marks the first time I have ever used one of these. I have always had the luxury of a compost pile at my homes. Gloria only had four bags and we filled them quickly. Once full, they were very heavy, too. Mindy borrowed one additional from the neighbor but there remained quite a pile even still. I wanted to move some of the mulched debris to the backyard to fill several large holes in the lawn that I feel pose safety hazards for running kids or even adults. In the end we didn’t. Back inside I headed to the basement family room to catch-up on NFL football scores. The Bengals lost and the Vikings and Browns were losing. The call to dinner came soon after. I was ready to eat. We had pot roast with carrots and potatoes – one of my all-time favorites. As sides we had stuffing and cucumber salad. Later, for dessert, we had pecan pie and brownies. I had one of each. We left for home just after 7pm. Mindy was in a hurry to get home in an effort to get the kids a much needed bath. And once we arrived she did just that. I walked Ykraps. After the kids were fast asleep, we tuned into the Colts-Patriots game. I was hopeful that the Colts would kick the Patriots behinds if for no other reason than vengeance. It was 14-14 when I headed to bed. Mindy had headed up about an hour earlier.