Xmas Vacation Ends ... Wahoo!

My vacation was over and it was time to head back to work. I was more than ready after nine days of gluttony. It was a crystal clear morning with temperatures hovering near freezing. I completed a round of exercises and then walked Ykraps, all in the quiet solitude of the precious predawn hours. I was careful not to make any unnecessary noises for fear of waking the sleeping children prematurely. Mindy still has another week’s vacation ahead. Aside from me, no one had to be up. After some meditation I dressed for a run. I didn’t worry too much about the time because I wasn’t overly concerned about being to work by 8:30am. Too that end, I didn’t depart for my run until 6:45am. It was a nice run and it felt really good to once again complete it even before sunrise. I feel more control over my day under that scenario. Because it was so clear, I could see daylight coming as my run wrapped up. It was 7:20am by the time I was settled back at home. I quietly went about preparing my breakfast and lunch. Like any other day, I could hear the kids beginning to stir upstairs. I didn’t chase after the sounds. I let them go on as normal. I fried and enjoyed two eggs along with some strawberries and a Clementine. For lunch, I packed a cauliflower, broccoli, & tomato medley along with some nuts, and some leftover ham. By the time I headed up for a shower all the kids were awake. Mindy got up to get the kids squared away while I showered and dressed. By the time that I made it back downstairs their day was fully underway. I was thankful to be heading off to work. I didn’t leave the house until almost 8:15am after forgetting to start my Trooper ahead of time to clear the solid frost. Mindy offered that I should take the new Pilot but I declined. Just before departing, I downloaded some U2 songs to Jacob’s MP3 player. He was very excited. Traffic was light. Lots of folks take this week as vacation. The office was unusually quiet and only scantly populated. But all of this I expected. My boss emailed that he would be working from home. My overnight peer was still there. We enjoyed some coffee time and shared some Xmas stories. The day went surprisingly well. I could’ve left early but decided against it. Besides, things did get a little dicey, just as they often do, right around 4:00pm. I didn’t leave until 5:40pm. Mindy was making Ravioli for dinner. I noticed right away that she had taken the Xmas pine roping down from the all the banisters. That seemingly simple act opened the house up quite a bit. The kids were in great moods and after my brief walk with Ykraps, we all sat down for dinner. It was a tame evening by comparison. The kids were ready for bed by 8pm. Mindy & I relaxed in the livingroom for a while. I worked on my blog. She sat in one of the Queen Anne chairs. We headed to bed around 1030pm. Life was seemingly back to normal.