Home Sweet Home

One to go! I was up at 5:40am on yet another cold winter morning. The glow of the waning half moon was most impressive against the snowy back drop. I began and completed my exercise routine without any unforeseen consequence then dressed for a cold winter morning’s walk with Ykraps. It was colder than I expected with a fairly stiff artic breeze forcing wind chills down around -17. Despite this continued deep freeze, and I supposed because of the expected warm-up, most schools were not closed or delayed this day. I made coffee for both Mindy and I, which I hadn’t done since last week. Mindy was in the shower when I took hers upstairs. I left it on her lingerie dresser and returned downstairs. I checked the official temperature which was a balmy 2 degrees, and as I shared earlier, the wind chill was -15. It was time to get busy making lunches. I made both of us lunch and then scrambled some non-embryonic eggs topped with sharp cheddar cheese. I served the eggs with cut fruit. The kids, a little out of sync after their three-day sabbatical, didn’t ask for any breakfast. In fact, only Bella cried that she wanted to stay home. We teased her about staying home alone, but all that did was make the whining worse. She was awfully cranky! Mindy and the kids departed at their usual time. Mindy let me know that she’d be stopping by her mom’s after school provided she gets released as planned, and that Jim would be dropping Bella off to me – most likely around 6-630pm. I’m glad she said something. Otherwise, I might have used the time to shop or do something unique for myself. After they left I made quick work of my shower and change of clothes. I warmed the Trooper then left for work at 8:05am. Once in the Trooper & on my way, I realized that I left my parka at home, but I was bundled in my wooly fleece so I wasn’t too concerned. Besides, barring any problems, it’s a very short walk from the lot to the building. The pace of my morning was feverish. I was busier than each proceeding day and still had a couple of pre-planned conference calls I needed to join. During the later call, cousin Dodie IM’d. I hadn’t talked with her since our family Xmas party. We caught up on a few things, including my step-mother Sheila. Because of these calls, I didn’t leave for a run until just after 2pm. I was beginning to get a little jittery. I left for my run by 2:15pm dressed in my full winter gear. My groin pull felt marginally better again today. For this I am grateful. I was beginning to worry it might be something worse. I trust it will continue to improve with each passing day. The run went well and was especially easy after the turn around. I had the breeze at my back on the run in. The afternoon went brutally fast, helped along mostly by the late run. It was already 3:15pm by the time I got back to my desk and ate my lunch. I stayed pretty busy through what was left of the afternoon. And literally, the next time I looked up at the clock it was 5:00pm. I was in the middle of helping a couple of engineers with an issue so I didn’t get out of the office until 5:20pm. Just as I was starting the Trooper my phone rang. It was Mindy. She reported having Bella with her, which would free me up until 7pm after all. I headed straight home bent on spending some quiet reflective time alone. Along my trip home I made a few calls to family. I called my dad, Lindsey, and then Ashley. My dad gave me a full report on Sheila’s progress as well as some insight into his recent activities. Sheila’s having some difficulties with therapy, I learned. I arrived home around 5:40pm and instantly switched into hurry-up mode. I organized myself for the next morning and then walked Ykraps. Even though it was in the teens, it actually felt warm given the recent artic weather. I was back inside and free to relax by 6:05pm. I decided my time would be best spent updating my blog and adding pictures. I did just that for the next 1.5 hours. Mindy arrived home just after 7pm. I apologized for not starting any dinner. She understood as usual. While I put the finishing touches on my blog, Mindy whipped up homemade burritos. We ate those at 7:30pm. They were very good! Soon after we finished eating, Mindy got Bella ready for bed. She would have no part of going to sleep while Jacob was away at the hockey game. Jim brought Jacob home around 9:15 or so. Bella was happy to see him. Mindy quickly readied him for bed, and retucked "the peanut", too. While she took care of all that, I sat on the family room floor strumming my guitar and also watching some TV. I watched Scrubs and then 30 Rock. Both were very funny. After 30 Rock, Mindy and I headed to bed.