Rested & Ready to Return to Routine

*NOTE* This is Emily (2nd from the right) just before she broke her arm.

I slept with my feet/legs elevated on a double stack of pillows all night long. I thought that it might help my aching groin and tired legs. It did. I woke feeling far better than I did prior to bed. I was up before 5:30am – 5:23am to be exact. Mindy was kind enough to prep the morning’s coffee before heading to bed the night before, but didn’t know how to set the auto brew feature. Knowing this, I hit the “go” button as soon as I made it downstairs.

My exercise routine went very well. I was completely done and heading out the door with Ykraps by 5:40am. We took our dear old time. For the first time this summer, I noticed a significant decline in daylight. The long summer days are surely waning. As we made our way back towards home and across the bridge over the stream, I spotted what looked like a dark figure lurking motionlessly in the water. Finally focusing in, I realized that it was the beaver! He quickly submerged himself and swam underwater towards me and ultimately under the bridge. I could see that he’s grown a bit since mid-spring. Given all the tree damage he’s caused, my thoughts turned to his eradication.

Anyway, our fun was over. Ykraps and I headed back inside. Due to my early start, I was able to carryout the rest of my pre-run morning routine at a very leisurely pace. I sipped coffee, read the Daily OM, and meditated. I had oodles of time, and felt terrific, too. Come 6:25am I prepped and departed for my run. I ran four miles easily. The stiffness I felt Sunday was all but gone. I was back at home by 7:05am.

With little hesitation, I started prepping my breakfast and lunch. I had to prep everything from scratch save raiding the community fruit tray. For lunch I cut some celery, tomatoes, and cucumbers. I didn’t pack any protein or carbs to speak of, although I did pack a fruit medley.

For breakfast I made a ham and cheese omelet. I ate only half and saved the rest for Mindy. Shower time. I remembered to take Mindy her morning coffee. Despite being woefully sleepy, she mustered enough energy to interact a little. She asked how I felt. Well, thank you. Soon I was in the shower.

I chose to dress a bit snappier but for no particular reason. I was ready to head out even before 8am. But before heading out, I switched my “carry-on” over from the large gym bag to my old blue back pack. I’ve been lugging that big ol’ gym bag to & from even though I no longer run at work/lunch. But as of today that would be no more. I loaded up the Trooper and departed. Just as I was beginning to back out the drive my cell rang. Thinking it Mindy, I stopped and dug it out of my back pack. I missed the call but could still see that it was daughter Ashley. Given the hour I figured she must’ve really needed something so I went back inside to see if in fact she tried Mindy, too. Yep, she was already on the phone with her. She asked Mindy to come pick-up Olivia because she was too sick to go to work and needed to sleep. Without hesitation, Mindy agreed. That’s Mindy, always willing to help someone else.

Back to the Trooper and off to work. As I passed Thornton’s on Wilson and Roberts Rd I noticed the lower gas prices – $3.73 per gallon. Let’s hope it keeps declining. I didn’t stop. I arrived at work early by about five minutes. As it turned out, my peer was ill and left promptly after I arrived. No biggie!

My first order of business was getting caught up on email and administrative tasks after being out for ten days. That took most of the morning. I didn’t take a significant break until 2pm when I left for Home Depot. I had a short, mental list of things I wanted/needed for the home. I ended up spending $100 on flood light bulbs, fertilizer w/insect killer, bird seed, humming bird nectar, and a new measuring tape. Ouch!

Back at work, I fetched my packed lunch and headed back to my office. There I ate and worked through the rest of my day. I left for the day just before 5:30pm. I first phoned brother Tommy to wish him a happy birthday but got no answer. Next, phoned Mindy who updated me on household matters. She was in the midst of making dinner. She said they didn’t make it to the pool since Olivia slept for over 3 hours. She was out swinging in the new “baby” tree swing as we spoke. Without thinking it through, I took I-270 and got off at Roberts. Oops! Since July 7th, you can’t go south on Wilson from Roberts. It’s expected to remain that way for 60 days. Crap! I was stuck in a long line of traffic detouring to Old Dublin Rd. It took another fifteen minutes to get home from there.

Mindy was running around like a wild woman at home. The kids were outside playing. She was manning the grill and prepping something on the stove at the same time. Soon Olivia came running. I chose to take her with Ykraps and I on our evening walk. Mindy understandably declined joining us. She needed to tend to dinner. Jacob wanted to come along, too, although he grabbed his bike. Right off the bat I found it difficult to manage Olivia and tend to Ykraps at the same time. Each had their own agenda. I won’t make that mistake again. Still, somehow I managed.

Dinner was ready by the time we made it back inside. We had grilled pork chops, roasted corn-on-the-cob, and Mindy’s potatoes salad. It was all very good. Olivia didn’t eat much. After dinner I became increasingly tired. And given my druthers, I would’ve went down for a nap immediately. Instead, I fought through it and helped with kitchen clean-up. In fact, I did most of it. I felt obligated. Mindy still helped. After the kitchen was back in order, I went out to get the sprinkler going. Even after two days of watering, the lawn was showing signs of stress once more. That’s what four days in the 90’s will do.

As soon as I had the sprinkler up & going, I excused myself and went back inside for a much needed nap. I slept in the livingroom recliner for nearly an hour. I slept deeply, too. I didn’t wake until all the kids, neighbors included, came barging into the house making all sorts of noise. I gave them an earful. I was tired and grumpy! Meanwhile, Mindy was oblivious to their antics since she was upstairs giving Olivia a bath before taking her home. While she left to take Olivia home, the kids dashed off to the neighbors. I got up to get busy on updating my blog.

Mindy wasn’t gone even a minute before I saw an emergency squad cruise by all the while pulsing its siren. I popped outside quickly to make sure it wasn’t stopping at Crissy & Kenny’s, where I assumed the kids to be playing. It didn’t. I went back inside to continue my toil. About ten minutes later Jacob and Bella came back home. Bella was being unusually clingy and timid. She eventually got around to telling me that Emily broke her wrist. What? Jacob verified her story. The emergency squad was at Mike & Teri’s where all the kids were jumping on the trampoline. It seems Emily fell while exiting the trampoline and landed oddly on her wrist subsequently breaking it. The kids seemed shell shocked. Mindy soon arrived back home after dropping Olivia. I shared the news with her. She said she saw the squad pulling into our subdivision. She phoned Teri & Mike but got no answer.

Eventually, Mindy lead the kids upstairs for a shower. They needed it, too. They stunk from all the vigorous play. They were tucked in by 9pm like the night before. Jacob was asleep even before I tucked him in. Bella was a different story. Meanwhile, I stayed busy posting to my blog. I had our entire vacation already written in bullet point format. I didn’t change it, either. I figured the pictures would tell the story better than any writing ever could. However, I did cover in greater detail after our arrival home until the present in usual format. I was able to post photos back thru Wednesday. I hope to add a few more later.

Come 9:40pm I was again tired, but also hungry. I wanted some popcorn but found none in the pantry. Mindy offered to go fetch me some. I declined her offer. I settled on a couple fists full of chips and a diet soda. We headed to bed at 10pm sharp. I was eager for a good night’s sleep. Just before heading up, I went outside and powered off the pump.