Baseball & Gyros

It was Wednesday and presumably another BM’er day. Once again the skies were expected to be clear and the temperature nearing 80 – an ideal spring day. I was a bit hobbled directly out of bed most likely due to the yard work from the evening before, but nothing close to last week. After exercise and walking with Ykraps it loosened nicely. After coffee, internet, and meditation, I readied myself for another run. It’s April 23rd. By now there’s full daylight at 6:30am, although the sun doesn’t show on the horizon for another fifteen minutes or so. I ran in shorts and a long sleeve wicking shirt – perfect for the conditions. I’m really going to appreciate running early mornings come summer. I’m used to running mid-day when the sun’s at its apex, and when it’s hot & humid. My run started and finished nice. While not fully healed, my leg/ass was in pretty good shape. Like usual, Mindy had my eggs ready and waiting along with the fruit tray laid out in all its glory. The fruit this time a year is much fresher & much tastier than it is in the winter months. We’re experts, being consumers of it year round. I’ve been eating fresh fruit every morning and also at lunch for over five years. It used to be that you couldn’t get strawberries, watermelon and cantaloupe in winter months. Now you can, but the quality deteriorates dramatically. The rest of morning rush shaped up much like the others. Mindy & Bella departed. Jacob played while I showered. He and I set out for the bus stop at 7:55am. Again, this was another BM’er day, and it was a beautiful drive in. This particular day I parked far removed from the ash tree island, which left a thin coat of yellow pollen both inside & out yesterday. This spring is said to be extra bad for spring allergy sufferers, and judging by the amount of pollen I’ve seen covering almost everything, there’s little wonder. I worked straight through the day stopping only to grab my packed lunch. I left work around 5:30pm aiming towards the Big Fat Greek, where Mindy & I planned to meet for dinner. From there we’d head to Jacob’s ball practice. I arrived before Mindy and waited inside. She arrived after almost ten minutes of waiting. We asked to be seated out of doors on the front patio since it was such a lovely evening. We each ordered gyro platters but replaced the fries with a small Greek salad. We drank only water. We finished our meal near 6:45pm then headed directly to the ball diamond just a few miles up the road. Jimaken picked up both kids since it was a Wednesday. They were already there. Mindy’s decided to keep Jacob’s glove, cleats, and cap with her since Jimaken has demonstrated a propensity to loose such things. Mindy didn’t stick around practice very long. She planned to take Bella for spring flip-flops at the nearby Target. When Bella ran up to us we were both shocked to see her swollen eyes. Never before had Bella shown any allergy symptoms, but as stated earlier, this has been a very bad spring for airborne allergens. Apparently something in Jimaken’s yard really tore her up. Jimaken stayed for almost an hour but had to leave to grade papers. He teaches part-time at ITT technical college. I toughed out the final half hour of practice alone. By then, the sun had set, and it was dramatically cooler. I grabbed a wind shirt from my gym bag to counter the evening chill. Soon practice was over and Jacob and I were heading home in the BM’er. He very much enjoyed riding shotgun. We arrived home around 8:45pm – well past his usual bedtime. He took a quick shower before jumping in bed but was out probably before 9pm. Mindy & I stayed up to watch American Idol’s elimination night. We were both surprised to see Carly get bounced. Too bad - off to bed.