Monday Returns

Monday Returns Through the night I woke once or twice but ever so briefly. I was out of bed for good at 5:20am. The coffee maker hadn’t yet begun its cycle. I was worried that I might oversleep given the long 5-day weekend. That didn't happen! I glanced outside and saw that it was wet and raining ever so lightly. I wasn’t excited about it, but I didn’t let it get to me either. Instead, I went about my morning calisthenics and then set out on a walk with Ykraps. During our walk the rain was down to a very light drizzle – hardly noticeable. We reentered the house at 5:46am eager for some fresh coffee. I sat in front of the PC sipping coffee eager to learn how the Patriots game turned out. They won but not by much. They’re now 11-0. After reading the Daily OM I took Mindy some coffee. It was just after 6am. I didn’t hear her begin to stir for another several minutes. I spent the next 15 minutes in meditation before preparing for a run. Although I was anxious to try my new running gloves it was too warm. It was something like 45 degrees. And by the time I hit the door the rain had picked up significantly. The forecast said it would do so. I dashed off into the wet, dark morning air. I used my MP3 player tuned to Sunny 95 - 24X7 Xmas music. I rarely run with music in my ears in the dark but today was a new day and a new week. It was nice. The rain only intensified as my run progressed. But given my druthers, I’d prefer it that way. It sure beats setting out into a heavy downpour. I was officially wet by the time I finished. Mindy had lunch made and breakfast on the stove. I stripped out of my upper shell before sitting down to eat. Both kids were still fast asleep just as Mindy predicted. It’s funny because they were up almost everyday of our five day weekend at this very hour. I heard their groans and cries as Mindy woke them. She returned downstairs with Bella in tow. She looked like she was still sleeping. Thankfully, she was pleasant. Meanwhile, Jacob was still upstairs pouting about going to school. Mindy couldn’t hang out. It was already 7:30am. She had to go. Jacob did make it down to get a goodbye hug. He woke gracefully after she departed. I’ve learned to just allow him to be. He almost always comes around. I dashed off for a shower at 7:35am. And by the time I made my way back downstairs he was in much better spirits. Mindy, worried that he would be a pill, called minutes later to check his status. Because it was raining fairly hard, Jacob rode with me to the bus stop. He waited for the bus from inside the Trooper. I arrived to work at 8:20am in a steady downpour. It continued raining through mid-day. Work was very busy after the long holiday weekend. It was tough getting a handle on things but we did. I left for a lunch time shopping trip at 1:15pm. I drove to the Mill Run Target. I bought three sets of Xmas lights and a snow board for Jacob (a Xmas gift). Meanwhile, outside the rain continued coming down. I headed back to work and dodged the rain entering the building. The afternoon was busy. I managed to make it through the first day back in the office just fine, but it was tough. I didn’t feel that well either and worried that I might be coming down with something. However, it might’ve been from getting reacquainted with our air handling system. I left the office around 5:20pm. I called Mindy and informed her that I was stopping at Garden Ridge on my way home. They had a varied assortment of large Nut Crackers and I wanted one. I saw them a few weeks ago when I stopped in. I was convinced that they would be gone or picked over by now. They had some but the selection was diminished from where it stood a few weeks ago. They originally had 3, 4, and 5ft models. But I was only interested in the 3ft model. They were $30 compared to $200 for the 4ft model and $300 for the 5ft version! Yikes! I found only two remaining 3ft models. Unfortunately, both were damaged. However, just before walking away I noticed one lying down behind several of the tall nut crackers. To my delight it was a 3ft version of the classic nut cracker in perfect condition. I was very excited. What’s more, it was on sale for 25% off bringing the actual price to $22.50. I got a really good deal! Finally home I was beat. Mindy had lovingly walked Ykraps saving me the trouble. We moved directly to dinner, which consisted of leftover TG fixins’. I cleaned up the dinner mess and then retired to the PC room. I was anxious to update my delinquent blog. Meanwhile, Mindy and the kids watched part of a movie before bath time. When they finished with the baths they returned downstairs to watch Rudolph the Red Nosed Raindeer. I’m not sure if it was a DVD or on broadcast. Mindy, Jacob, and I played the board game Topple while watching. After having trouble waking the kids this AM, Mindy was determined to have the kids in bed by 7:30pm. And while they went initially, they did the holler for mom thing several times. That gets downright annoying. Bella came to the balcony a number of times but was shewed back to her bed. Eventually she alerted Mindy that she had just pee’d her bed. Mindy was, well, PISSED! There was no doubt that she did it as an attention grabbing stunt and all but admitted to it after a short interrogation. After Mindy changed her bed she finally went to sleep. Mindy was eager to watch a special Monday night presentation of House and Bones. Turns out they were both reruns. I watched only passively, still not feeling up to par. Mindy said I was sleeping but I don’t recall. I do know this. I didn’t have the energy to decorate the tree. We headed to bed around 10pm where I tuned into MNF. I gave up watching at some point and allowed Mindy control of the remote.