1) sunshine Monday morning, 10am
2) naked tree
3) step-mother Sheila with her charm necklace
4) It's a 30 year old 'Jimmy'. My first oil painting comes home - 1976
I did most of my Sunday night sleeping on the sofa, what little there was. My neck/back ached as it often does whenever I spend any measurable time on that sofa. I ‘woke’ for work around 5:40am. My head was all abuzz from a lack of sleep and the sugar buzz left over from the evening before. Crusty is a good description for how I felt. Regardless of how I felt, I sucked it up and readied for the work day as normal, or so I thought. I exercised, walked Ykraps, and contemplated the many issues swirling about my brain. My thinking wasn't all that positive most likely due to lack of sleep.
I prepared lunches and breakfast and moved about as if the day would go as planned. As Mindy was preparing to leave for the day she reentered the house requesting help lowering the garage door. It was much colder today than those days past. She had already fooled around with the detector lights thinking they were out of align. History tells me it was due mostly to the sudden drop in temperature. I had to do nothing more than threaten the sensitivity switch & and down it came just as easily as ever. Problem solved!
The problem was solved but my disposition had changed. I was determined to take care of a major Jimmy need. My body, mind, and soul could not continue on with my usual Monday pattern of shower and then work. I decided right then that I was going to work from home. I logged in to our corporate intranet & sent my boss and peers an note telling them as much. I needed a day like this.
After mentally preparing myself for this day of solitude I dawned my running attire for a brisk morning run. I was out the door by 8:15am. It was a cold, but sunny run. And it was very enjoyable. All the stress an pressure I felt earlier had lifted and more importantly, the sugar buzz had subsided. Once I was back in the warm house I logged back into work and began working. And while I could never work form home everyday, it was sure nice to sit in my PJ's doing my job just as I would from my office. I interacted with my team members and even joined a conference call meeting with my peers around 11am. We met for almost one hour. After the meeting I continued working all afternoon.
I took a few breaks. Around 2pm I put Xmas lights on the tree that Mindy and I put up in the family room. After completing the tree I did some more work then took a shower. At 4:15 I wrapped up for the day. At 4:30pm I left for my Dad's place, taking the birthday card and gift we had for Sheila. They were home as I expected they would be. Aunt Margie was there, too. Sheila had the first chemo treatment today. I gave Sheila her card and gift and we visited for about 1.5 hours. Just before leaving, I asked my dad if I could one day have the oil painting I completed in high school that hung on the wall of their enclosed front porch. He fetched it right then.
When I left for home I gave Mindy a call on her cell. She had been Xmas shopping and dining with her momma. I arrived home and quickly leashed up Ykraps for a cold early winter's walk. Just as I was leading Ykraps out the door Jim surprisingly arrived back home with the kids. I told him he could go right in while I walked Ykraps. Mindy wasn't home yet, and he was about an hour earlier than usual. Jim left soon after I returned with Ykraps. And Mindy arrived home soon after he departed. I made myself some chicken broth and relaxed at the kitchen table. Mindy and the kids began decorating the Xmas tree.
And truth be told, I wasn't that thrilled with the idea of using her mixture of sentimental and classical tree decorations. In fact, I didn't even want the tree in the family room. Instead, I wanted it centered on the living room picture window. This compromise thing was for the birds! I have always treated a Xmas tree like a canvas. It is my seasonal work of art. Because of this, I think it's fair to say, I pouted and then chose not to participate in the tree decorating. Meanwhile, despite the tree being nine foot tall, the kids placed all of their ornaments on the bottom third of the tree.
After their decorating hour, Mindy rushed them upstairs for bath and bed. I participated just briefly in the read and tuck before returning back downstairs. I tuned into the MNF game - Eagles vs. Panthers. The Eagles won! Mindy asked me why I was so stand-off-ish about the tree. I explained myself best I could. I didn't plan to compromise on how my Xmas tree would look. It bothered me - plain and simple. I slept on the sofa all night - again!
1) sunshine Monday morning, 10am
2) naked tree
3) step-mother Sheila with her charm necklace
4) It's a 30 year old 'Jimmy'. My first oil painting comes home - 1976
I did most of my Sunday night sleeping on the sofa, what little there was. My neck/back ached as it often does whenever I spend any measurable time on that sofa. I ‘woke’ for work around 5:40am. My head was all abuzz from a lack of sleep and the sugar buzz left over from the evening before. Crusty is a good description for how I felt. Regardless of how I felt, I sucked it up and readied for the work day as normal, or so I thought. I exercised, walked Ykraps, and contemplated the many issues swirling about my brain. My thinking wasn't all that positive most likely due to lack of sleep.
I prepared lunches and breakfast and moved about as if the day would go as planned. As Mindy was preparing to leave for the day she reentered the house requesting help lowering the garage door. It was much colder today than those days past. She had already fooled around with the detector lights thinking they were out of align. History tells me it was due mostly to the sudden drop in temperature. I had to do nothing more than threaten the sensitivity switch & and down it came just as easily as ever. Problem solved!
The problem was solved but my disposition had changed. I was determined to take care of a major Jimmy need. My body, mind, and soul could not continue on with my usual Monday pattern of shower and then work. I decided right then that I was going to work from home. I logged in to our corporate intranet & sent my boss and peers an note telling them as much. I needed a day like this.
After mentally preparing myself for this day of solitude I dawned my running attire for a brisk morning run. I was out the door by 8:15am. It was a cold, but sunny run. And it was very enjoyable. All the stress an pressure I felt earlier had lifted and more importantly, the sugar buzz had subsided. Once I was back in the warm house I logged back into work and began working. And while I could never work form home everyday, it was sure nice to sit in my PJ's doing my job just as I would from my office. I interacted with my team members and even joined a conference call meeting with my peers around 11am. We met for almost one hour. After the meeting I continued working all afternoon.
I took a few breaks. Around 2pm I put Xmas lights on the tree that Mindy and I put up in the family room. After completing the tree I did some more work then took a shower. At 4:15 I wrapped up for the day. At 4:30pm I left for my Dad's place, taking the birthday card and gift we had for Sheila. They were home as I expected they would be. Aunt Margie was there, too. Sheila had the first chemo treatment today. I gave Sheila her card and gift and we visited for about 1.5 hours. Just before leaving, I asked my dad if I could one day have the oil painting I completed in high school that hung on the wall of their enclosed front porch. He fetched it right then.
When I left for home I gave Mindy a call on her cell. She had been Xmas shopping and dining with her momma. I arrived home and quickly leashed up Ykraps for a cold early winter's walk. Just as I was leading Ykraps out the door Jim surprisingly arrived back home with the kids. I told him he could go right in while I walked Ykraps. Mindy wasn't home yet, and he was about an hour earlier than usual. Jim left soon after I returned with Ykraps. And Mindy arrived home soon after he departed. I made myself some chicken broth and relaxed at the kitchen table. Mindy and the kids began decorating the Xmas tree.
And truth be told, I wasn't that thrilled with the idea of using her mixture of sentimental and classical tree decorations. In fact, I didn't even want the tree in the family room. Instead, I wanted it centered on the living room picture window. This compromise thing was for the birds! I have always treated a Xmas tree like a canvas. It is my seasonal work of art. Because of this, I think it's fair to say, I pouted and then chose not to participate in the tree decorating. Meanwhile, despite the tree being nine foot tall, the kids placed all of their ornaments on the bottom third of the tree.
After their decorating hour, Mindy rushed them upstairs for bath and bed. I participated just briefly in the read and tuck before returning back downstairs. I tuned into the MNF game - Eagles vs. Panthers. The Eagles won! Mindy asked me why I was so stand-off-ish about the tree. I explained myself best I could. I didn't plan to compromise on how my Xmas tree would look. It bothered me - plain and simple. I slept on the sofa all night - again!
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