Please Celebrate Me Home

Welcome Home Mindy!!!

I was surprised to wake Saturday morning and see blue skies out the window. The forecast has been anything but stable for the past week- changing almost every hour. Rain was predicted and expected to last all day long. I wondered how long this might last. Regardless, I got my routine underway just after 7:00am. I felt terrific after a long and restful night’s sleep.

I planned to attend Jacob’s baseball game which would start at 10:30am. However, coach Rob asked that the kids be there by 10am. I felt obligated to arrive then too even though Jimaken was bringing Jacob. With that in mind, I had to be deliberate in my actions, but did leave myself plenty of leeway.

After exercise, walking Ykraps, my run, and then a shower, I headed towards St. Brendan’s ball fields. Just as I was leaving, the sky began to cloud over, and by the time I arrived it was fully cloudy. And what a difference the cloud cover made. It felt 15 degrees cooler. I met Jimaken, Jacob, and Bella in the lot. They were there before me. Bella was in short shorts and a long sleeved t-shirt (no jacket). I was a little surprised given the chill in the air. Jim quipped that was all she wanted. Hmm? I brought a long sleeved wicking shirt for Jacob to wear under his jersey but he refused it. In turn, I gave it to Bella.

Jimaken and I sat together at the game. Meanwhile, it only got chillier after the wind kicked up. Bella ran around to keep warm. She eventually found some kids to play with. The game started on time. We had just enough players – no bench warmers. That was likely due to the schedule change, which moved our game from a 1:30pm start time to 10:30am. I recognized my neighbor Pat’s brother-in-law coaching the other team. I walked over to say hello to Tom & Lori. Even though we don’t actually keep score, the other team was superior, I’ll admit. They could hit the cover off the ball. Very impressive! I couldn’t help but think it had a lot to do with the pitching technique they used. Their coach pitched from his knees, and also threw it straight and fairly hard, whereas our coach pitches standing tall. In turn, the ball crosses the kids more like a slow softball pitch. Jacob did a little better hitting than the first game. I was happy for him. But honestly, I was more happy when the game was over. It was chilly. J

I called mindy on my way home. Rene was up visiting. She understood and encouraged me to go home and cut the grass before coming up. She would be released once I got there. I stopped at Home Depot but bought nothing. I also stopped at Burger King for a fast food lunch. At home I got crackin’ on the lawn. It’s funny, too. It felt about ten degrees warmer at home. Too, the sun was trying to come back out from behind the thinning clouds. I was hopeful that it would. I finished the lawn around 3pm and readied to head to the hospital. I must’ve arrived near 4pm.

I wasn’t in Mindy’s room long before they showed me how to clean/drain her catheter bags. I wasn’t looking forward to that, but Mindy acknowledged knowing how to do it. I’d do it if I had too, however. I walked out with three of Mindy’s four bunches of flowers. Nurse Kristen wheeled Mindy down to the waiting Trooper.

Mindy asked if I would drop her at home before heading on to CVS to fetch her four prescriptions. I agreed. After carrying everything in and getting her upstairs I headed out. She made me a list of items to get. It was a struggle getting there. Roberts Rd is tore up pretty good related to the widening project. I dropped the four prescriptions at the drop-off counter. The pharmacist expected it to take 10-15 minutes. I went to fetch the other items. One of those items was a package of pads. That’s right, pads!! Yikes! I wasn’t too excited about that. As fate would have it, they had every type under the sun save for the super maxi, thin, long, with wings Mindy requested. Are you kidding me? Please God, make them appear. I couldn’t find ‘em. I had little choice but to use one of my phone a friend options. I called Mindy to review her specific request. She assured me that they make ‘em. I looked three times. Not here, I said! Finally, after some extended looking I found a version she could live with. They met most of the criteria save for the name brand. Geesh! By then I was jaded. Pads anyone!

Next, I found the Milk of Magnesia. I had no idea what that was for but was familiar with the name. It’s one of those products that were heavily marketed on the TV when I was a child. By the time I made my way back to the pharmacy her scripts were ready. Thankfully, she allowed me to pay for everything there. I didn’t have to take the pads to the front check-out. This pleased me much. I took Walcutt to Trabue home. That went much faster despite there being construction there, too.

I dropped the goods in Mindy’s hands and fetched her fresh water. I asked if I could head to Straders for more flowers. She agreed. She’d be sleeping anyhow. I was excited to get back to Strader’s to hopefully get our backyard hanging baskets, Impatiens, begonias, and geraniums. For the past ten years or so I have always selected Wave petunia hanging baskets for the deck. And each year, despite my tireless efforts to keep them healthy and watered daily, they inevitably start looking rather spindly by mid-July. On the other hand, the lush geranium baskets that I hang on the two ash trees mid-yard always maintain their beauty. With that in mind, I decided I’d buy four geranium baskets this year.

I bought my veggies this trip too, which consisted of four varieties of tomatoes and five varieties of peppers. I also bought two plastic pink flamingos. I hear they can help keep Canada geese away. We’ll soon see. Regardless, I like them for their tackiness too.

I was home by 6pm. I carted my new flats of flowers to the deck for easy morning access. I then tended to Mindy to make sure she had what she needed. She asked for dinner. I made her cream of chicken over rice. At the same time, I made myself a toasted turkey, ham and cheese sandwich. After delivering Mindy’s food I walked Ykraps and then poured myself a Jack & Coke. I had only one. Sitting at Mindy’s laptop, I did some surfing, but got tired rather early. I fell asleep in the chair watching some TV show about the asteroid belt. I upped and went to bed at 10:45pm.