Blue Tuesday

1) The National Champion, Florida Gators 2) a cozy fire I was up and out of bed by 5:35am doing what I usually do. Nothing about my life had changed – but it wasn’t that I thought anything would either. Still, I couldn’t help but feel a little blue after the beating the Buckeyes took just hours earlier. Not only did we get beat, we got slaughtered in front of the entire world. But I’ll move on. I exercised and then, just like any other day, took Ykraps for his morning stroll. The weather was similar to the day before. The morning air was chilly enough that I really should’ve worn my winter parka, and certainly too chilly for a simple fleece I wore. It was snowing, too. The ground was just beginning to show some accumulation. Upon my return I made the morning coffee and took Mindy’s to her bedside. She’s so spoiled! She was still sleeping. I made sure that she was awake by placing her warm hands on my snow wet head. I went back downstairs to tend to the rest of my routine. I packed sliced turkey & cheese chunks for lunch then proceeded to fry up some eggs for breakfast. Mindy and Jacob came down around the same time. I could see the wonder in Jacob’s eyes and instantly knew what he was thinking. He was seeking good news about the ultimate outcome of the Buckeye game, which he exited at the slaughter’s onset. Mindy broke the bad news at his prompting. As expected, he began crying real tears. His despair only heightened as he began thrusting his elbows against the hallway wall. Damn! Mindy asked him to stop. After several seconds he did. We did our best to console him. In the end, I told Mindy that it was probably a very good lesson in life for Jacoby. We all moved on. At 7:20am the van departed with Mindy, Jacob, and the sleepy Bella in tow. Bella successfully managed to NOT wake her mother through the night earning her the privilege of Leapster access. I readied for work. Before leaving the house I played guitar for about five minutes. I wore one of my new mock turtle necks today - the brown one. I arrived to work just before 8am. As one might expect, the mood was somber. There was no boasting and no visible Buckeye paraphernalia being paraded around. Instead, there was an eerie silence. But after the first hour passed, I began to hear folks discussing the game and eventually took part myself. It’s all part of the healing process. Life goes on and so does work. We got busy and soon my mind was off of football and onto business. Runtime came around quickly. I left for the gym at roughly 12:45pm, just like usual. I dressed for the cooler temps by adding an extra layer – a wind shirt - and wearing gloves. That proved ideal given the conditions. The run was almost effortless. After my run I was eager to get back and get some food in my belly. I worked while I consumed my packed lunch. I worked aggressively right up until 5:10pm when I packed up my stuff and headed for home. Mindy suggested bunless cheeseburgers for dinner. That sounded perfect to me. And by the time I got home, she had dinner well underway. I walked Ykraps towards the west. The wind was really kicking up making obvious the wind chill, which was the coldest of the winter. I couldn’t wait to be back at home. The house smelt strongly of burgers and onions – very sweet and very nice. Along with the burgers we finished off the scalloped potatoes. Later, for dessert, we shared a piece of chocolate pie brought home from Gloria’s Sunday night. Still very yummy! After the kids were tucked neatly in their beds, Mindy and I spent a few quiet minutes talking in front of a warm fire. It was very pleasant. However, Mindy was exhausted and desired an early bedtime. She headed to bed around 8:30pm. I chose to stay up and watch the Buckeye basketball game, read, and enjoy a bowl of popcorn just like the old days. I read about 20 pages and ate the entire bowl of popcorn. I thought about popping a second bag but didn’t. Around 10:10pm I called it a night and went to bed.