Oh-oh - choose me - choose me

Here Jacoby's sporting his new short
haircut along with a variety of the
foods he had for dinner.



















If Bella comes at you with what
appears to be a fudge like substance
on her finger you'd better be askings
lots of questions and making some
quick observations.

It was a plain vanilla Tuesday – the second day of the work week. I was up before Mindy’s alarm and downstairs contemplating my day before 5:45am. I made quick work of my exercise routine and then leashed up Ykraps for the morning walk. I was surprised at just how cold it was. I didn’t where gloves since it’s been so relatively warm of late. Based purely on feel, I guessed it to be below 20 degrees.

Upon my return to the house I made coffee for both Mindy and I in our brand new coffee mugs. I took Mindy hers. She was just about to get in the shower. After returning downstairs I checked the actual temperature. To my surprise, it was only 13 degrees! No wonder my fingers were numb! I noticed too that the expected high for the day had been lowered since I last checked. Now, the expected high was only 28 degrees! So much for our mid-week warm-up. And now that I think about it, I guess it’s about that time of year when I start bitchin’ about the weather, especially now that I’ve gotten my winter vacation under my belt.

I went about my Tuesday like any other work day prep. I reminded Mindy, and myself for that matter, to stop and buy lottery tickets on the way to or from work, since tonight’s Mega Millions jackpot is over $350 million. I’ll already have a horse or two in race via a combined work pool but nothing like winning it all outright.

Again today, I headed up to the shower just as Mindy was loading the minivan with her stuff and the kids. I was ready to head out the door by 7:45am. I stopped by Thornton’s to buy lottery tickets. I spent $5. Once at work our lottery pool organizer was soliciting contributions for yet another stake. We won $150 back in November that already was carry forward with a list of about 90 contributors, plus, we won a few buck with last Friday’s 450 chances too. That meant we would have three lists of contributors from work each about with about 90 folks. That makes even the largest of winnings small by comparison. But who’s complaining!

Work was busy all morning long. I wasn’t able to escape for my run until almost 1pm. It had managed to warm-up to about 27 degrees by run time. But I figured with the sun shining I’d be just fine. To boot, there wasn’t much of a wind at all. And around these parts, that’s rare! My run went well. I thoroughly enjoyed myself on the trail.

After lunch I received a call from cousin Dodie detailing some not so good news about my step mother, Sheila. It seems she’s taken a turn for the worse. Apparently she’s been hospitalized since Sunday. She implied that I/we need to be getting up there to see her. It wasn’t five minutes and my dad called for similar reasons. Now when my dad calls you know it’s serious. He relayed similar news with slightly more detail. I called Mindy and asked that she secure child care so that we could visit the hospital after work. She ultimately got Ashley to do it, and picked her up on her way home from work.

As requested, I notified Tommy, Glenn, and my ex, Kelly via email. I called Tommy on his cell after sending the email. He had apparently just spoken with dad, too. He planned to be at the hospital this evening, but also warned that Heather might be going into labor. Holy crap!

After leaving work I stopped at Kroger to pick-up some beautiful flowers & a card for Sheila. Mindy walked Ykraps to minimize my to-do’s when I got home. That way we’d be able to leave sooner rather than later. When I arrived child care was already in place, the kids had eaten and the dog had been walked. I handed the flowers and vase to Mindy. She prepped the flowers minus the water. We’d add water once at the hospital. She showed me a card we received from our friends Courtney and Jeremy congratulating us on our marriage. They gifted us a $100 Mitchell’s gift card. Damn! That was awfully sweet!

Just as we were preparing to walk out the door my oldest daughter Courtney called, whom I haven’t talked to since at length for God knows how long. Although I did see her for a brief minute as we were entering the hospital last week to see Lindsey. She was looking for some financial help. I opted out for not wanting to enable her. The story gets weaker and weaker each time. I love her dearly but refuse to be a piggy bank. As nicely as I could I explained what I expected and what I would do. The call ended somewhat gracefully. I was a little surprised at that. Mindy and I left for Mt Caramel.

We arrived around 6:15pm. The meters are free after 6pm so we didn’t need to pay to park. We found her room with little trouble in the Palliative care wing in the tower. I was surprised how many folks were there (my brother Charles and his wife, Tommy, step-brother Shawn and his girlfriend, as well as Sheila’s two sisters – Margie and Brenda). Apparently my dad left for a little rest and dinner with my brother Bobby.

Sheila was happy to see us and everyone else. Although it was apparent that she was in a lot of pain. It was a little difficult to see truth be told. She had moments where she seemed coherent but often seemed completely out of it. We visited for almost two hours before leaving for home. We waited for my dad to return since we hadn’t seen him for quite awhile.

The kids were still up when we got home around 8:15pm. After tucking in the kids and resting for just a few minutes I took Ashley and Olivia home. I was back by 8:45pm, and you better believe that I was exhausted & hungry. Mindy was too. She warmed a couple pieces of leftover pizza & some sauerkraut balls. I ate 1.5 sauerkraut balls and one piece of pizza, but what I really wanted was popcorn, so I made some.

We ate popcorn and chatted. We called Tommy to see how Heather was coming along. They were just on their way to the hospital. We also called my mom to give her an update and learn about her recent EMG. She said she was finally diagnosed with a ruptured disc. Given the choices, that's not nearly as grave as she had envisioned. She's so dramatic! She's got an appointment scheduled with a surgeon on the 19th in Columbus, although she doesn't know for what. Hmmm? Perhaps she should've asked. For a moment I thought I was talking to one of my daughters.

Before retiring for the night, we called a left avoice mail for Glenn so he could be up to speed on everything that's taken place.