Live, Love, & Laugh

It was 5:30am in a flash. I woke still sleepy after struggling to fall asleep the night before despite feeling really tired. Lately, it seems, I get a second wind once my head hits the pillow. That’s largely uncharted waters. One can usually count on me being sound asleep five minutes into bed. Downstairs I began my exercises in earnest after choking down an 800mg Ibuprofen, more for preventative measures than for actual pain. Also, my sinuses were still draining but I could tell I was finally ridding myself of this nasty, lingering virus. Once it was time to head out with Ykraps I again grabbed a jacket. It was still quite chilly – just over 50 degrees. Later, when preparing for my run, I pulled on a winter running shirt to help shield my body from the chilly air. After a quick stretch I was off. As I approached ‘decision juncture’ I had to quickly decide on three versus four miles. I felt good enough to do four but did only three. But the day’s quickly coming when I just need to do my four and not think. During my 11 plus year streak, I’ve gone as many as five years without altering my mileage for anything. Back at home I got bust with daily food prep. I preheated a skillet while scrambling to pull together a healthful lunch. My world was rocked a bit after finding no cheese cut up, no nuts mixed, and rubbery celery. I later told Mindy that I felt unloved. J I fried eggs for breakfast even though I really wanted an omelet. I needed to cut time somewhere, and that’s where it was. I delivered Mindy’s coffee. She was sound asleep. She woke just as I set it down. I hustled through my shower and prep. I still had some tasks to complete before leaving the house. First, I needed to transfer my golf clubs to the Trooper (chance of afternoon showers). Plus, I planned to make the drive to the new Time Warner building on Olentangy River Rd to swap cable boxes. We wanted one with an HDMI output. I said goodbye to everyone before heading out – group hug. I drove off eastward on Trabue cutting through Upper Arlington in route to Time Warner. I hadn’t yet visited their new digs. They’re located just south of the CPD heliport in a lavish new building. All of my buddies that are still there say it’s incredible –lots and lots of state-of-the-art amenities. Finding the Customer Service entrance was simple. They have a slick new lobby. The young lady working the desk said I looked familiar but didn’t know why. I said it most likely had something to do with working there for 15 years. She looked familiar too, but I couldn’t place her name. Heck, it’s been almost 11 years! I got the box I needed and then headed off to work. Work went well. We didn’t have our usual Wednesday staff meeting. I skipped a formal lunch break since this was a golf Wednesday. However, I never did receive a confirmation email from Bob as I typically do. And as the day wound down I began feeling as though I didn’t really want to go anyhow. The drive is just too taxing, not to mention expensive. Plus, anymore, I’m generally scrambling around like a mad man just to try and leave early. I hate that feeling. It’s one that I try to avoid in all phases of my life. The weather wasn’t that nice either, but it wasn’t raining. Instead, it was cloudy and about 68 degrees. In addition, there was a brisk, chilly breeze kicking up. As the afternoon wore, I got busier and busier. Mindy phoned late in the afternoon to tell me that she was meeting Rene for dinner at Shoku, a sushi place in Grandview. She said if I didn’t golf I could meet them there. Thanks but no thanks. I headed for home come 5:35pm. I made a quick stop at Home Depot where I picked up another wallplate to cover the large rectangular hole I made to fish cables to our plasma TV. I was home by 6:10pm. Mindy had already walked Ykraps after the kids left with their daddy. That made my life incrementally easier. After settling down, I toyed with the idea of napping, but ultimately decided against it. Instead, I started working on the painstaking process of moving my TV/stereo equipment from the armoire to the new stand/cabinet. Mindy phoned around 6:30pm to let me know that she was practically home. She wanted to give me a heads up that Rene was coming with. I appreciated the heads up. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting her for another hour or so. I was very focused on the task at hand. I was hopeful for more alone time. I had the family room turned upside down as I went about rewiring all the equipment. It’s a bit more complicated than one might think. Mindy & Rene got the hint. They left for Target shortly after arriving home. Meanwhile, I continued on with my project. The kids arrived home from dinner with dad night around 7:30pm. Mindy & Rene weren’t far behind. The kids had already dashed out the door to play before the girls got back, however. I got about as far as I could with the equipment transition. I was able to test most connectivity but not all. I still don’t have the plasma TV upstairs and my old 32” doesn’t have component video or an HDMI connection. Plus, I need to buy a couple more cables, as well as a wall mount bracket for my center channel speaker. It never ends! I stopped working around 9pm. That’s when Mindy had the kids bathed and in bed. I went up for the tuck. Everyone went to bed in good spirits. Jacob’s been very well behaved since his return from vacation. Mindy and I spent some quality time together chatting after the kids were asleep. Bella hollered down a time or two citing the inability to sleep. Happens from time to time. We discussed the remaining decorating necessary to complete the ½ bath project. Together, we decided to hang this “Live, Love, and Laugh” picture frame she bought. I really like the idea. It will give us the ability to put interesting photos in the bathroom, and then change them from time to time. Neither one of us are sold on the poppie picture she framed. We may change that later. Plus, we’re going to add a wall shelf to hold tissues and perhaps another piece of 3-D art. It was nearly 10pm. After putting all the tools away, we decided to head for bed. I thought that I might fall right to sleep.