A Classic Mid-July Day

1) A little piece of Sheila in our home
2) The dining room (learning to trick the flash into a sunny window)

I found it extremely difficult to motivate myself out of bed this AM. I didn’t get up until 6:10am. Perhaps it was the heavy dinner Sunday evening at Gloria’s, or the frequent tossing and turning through the night – not sure. Either way, it was a struggle. It was already 6:30am by the time I finished my exercises and found my way outdoors with Ykraps. By that time, I am usually well into food prep.

Since I was behind the proverbial eight ball, I spent a shorter amount of time on the PC sipping coffee, but I still took about ten minutes to meditate. By 6:45am I was aggressively into food prep and well on my way to catching up. I left the house to water at 7:10am. I watered just the back figuring that the front beds got plenty of water over the weekend and were still a little wet. I finished watering the back bed, baskets, and pots by 7:35am. I was caught up for all practical purposes.

By the time I showered and dressed it was just before 8am. I left for work right at 8am. Work wasn’t as busy s expected for a Monday morning. I was happy and thankful all the while knowing things could break loose at any time. Things stayed rather calm during the morning hours. I left for a run around 1245pm. It was a picture mid-July summer day. It was about 85 and sunny with a smidge of humidity. My run was practically effortless as I listened to my MP3 player.

I finished run, showered, then returned to my office to pick-up where I left off. The afternoon was busier than the first half the day but still manageable. I closed the book on the work day around 5:10pm and headed directly home. I thought about stopping for flower pots and crickets but didn’t. As soon as I arrived home we walked Ykraps together as a family. Once back at home I primed the sprinkler then lit the grill. We were grilling boneless chicken breasts. I threw some hickory chunks on the grill, too, to add some extra flavor.

The kids were playing noisily in the family room while dinner cooked. I found that a little unnerving. I kept to myself on the deck so I could unwind. We ate our dinner out there, also. Mindy knew I was tired and allowed me to nap on the deck while she cleaned up and eventually went out to play with the kids. I slept a little but was interrupted a couple of times preventing me from getting the peaceful rest my body craved. I gave up on sleep around 7:40pm and spent the next 20 or 30 minutes in a fog, or until the kids and Mindy returned from playing with neighbors.

I eventually made my way to the PC where I surfed a little before being called to tuck in the kids. They were watching TV from Jacob’s bed when I went up so they didn’t count that as an official tuck-in. I was asked up again about ten minutes later. I obliged their request. Mindy and I eventually found our way onto the deck to spend some quality time together. I made myself a Capt’n and Fresca. I decided to call my mom and check in. We talked for about thirty minutes getting disconnected once. She reported spending the day with my dad as he was kind enough to take her to her doctor’s appointment. She’s still suffering the same symptoms that caused her to have back surgery in early May.

Seconds later both kids were up & on the deck. They said they couldn’t sleep. A minute didn’t pass before Mindy ushered them back to their beds. I was being attacked by bugs – not bitten. Around 9:40pm we gave up on the deck and went inside. Before going in I went to retrieve the sprinkler pump not caring to risk it raining over night. Mindy opened the overhead garage door to facilitate my entrance. We walked back out to the front yard to view the large crescent moon in the northwest sky along with Venus. We retired to bed soon after.