Rained On, 65 Degrees, Pick-Up Skis, Some Where Over the Rainbows

Up just before 5:30am I was well on my way to getting a jump start on my day. Before doing much else, I checked the current weather. It was 50 degrees. Nice! I completed my morning calisthenics - sit-ups, push-ups, and curls then headed out on my morning walk with Ykraps. Judging by the water level of the pond and further deterioration of the remaining snow pack, I figured it must’ve rained pretty hard overnight. Ykraps and I enjoyed our walk. No longer were there any ice patches obstructing our path. The only remaining snow were those piles created from shoveling the driveway that get little to no sunshine. We have a couple in our yard. Aside from those, the lawn was completely visible. Yahoo! It sprinkled ever so lightly during our walk but certainly nothing to fret over. I made my morning coffee then sat in front of the PC for a while enjoying my pre run ritual. Normally, I would’ve delivered Mindy’s coffee about then, but she was staying home with Jacob today and asked that I not wake her until 6:30am. Jacob was sporting a 102 degree fever the night before. After almost a full cup of coffee I did some stretching on the family room floor. I am so loving this new routine. It seems to make quite a difference. I did a short meditation but my mind was racing – mostly about work matters. Ironically, during those times, meditation is most important/beneficial, but also the toughest to do. As requested, I woke Mindy and delivered some coffee. Despite not going to school, she still planned to take the wee ones to Grandma Sharon’s. I left for my run a tad late – must’ve been close to 6:40am by the time I finished my outdoor stretching. I didn’t get a ½ mile out before the sky let loose. It was pouring rain. It rained steadily for the better part of 30 minutes. At times it came down so hard I could hardly see my way. Finally, the rain let up less than a ¼ mile from home. Unbelievable! Mindy was thoughtful enough to place a beach towel just inside the door for my use. I was dripping wet. Honestly, the only part I really minded was the soaked shoes and squishy feet. And while my clothes were soaked, too, I couldn’t really feel it. Mindy and the kids were preparing to depart as I stripped out of my wet clothes. She was gone in a jiffy. I finished my eggs then headed up for a shower. After dressing for work I gathered my wet running clothes and threw them into the washer. Mindy got home from dropping the kids at about 8am – the same time that I was loading my gear into the Trooper. Neighbor Jake was just passing our house on his way to the bus stop. He looked bad. He had his tonsils out last week. Today, I believe, was his first day back to school. I greeted Mindy then said my goodbye. I was off to work. Damn! Gas was up to $1.95 overnight when it was just $1.72 the night before. I should’ve stopped then. I filled up needing just over 15 gallons. On to work. Strong storms, and possibly even coupled with thunder were projected. In fact, we were expecting the same weather that spawned deadly tornados the day before in Oklahoma. However, for the time being the sky looked rather benign. It was warm too. Must’ve been 54 degrees. It was Wednesday – staff meeting day. We met at 11am. The meeting was brief due to a another, larger department meeting earlier and another this afternoon. Come 12:30pm I left for lunch destined for the Polaris Aspen Ski & Boards to pick-up our new snow skis. I phoned Mindy, who stayed home with Jacob. At the time, it was sunny and 64 degrees. She reported having all the windows opened and doing lots of household chores. I would’ve been more excited about my task at hand had I not felt slightly under the weather. A few things (work matters) were still eating Gilbert Grape, too. I admit it. I arrived at ASBCO 20 minutes later. Our sales guy, Matt, was working the counter and promptly went for our skis & boots. After signing the paperwork, he had me verify that the din settings on the ski bindings matched what the paperwork stated. They did – on both pairs. Predicted the settings they had for me. I did my internet research to calculate what they should be set at. It’s a complicated formula containing the following: age, height, weight, ski ability, and style. Everything looked good. I was excited seeing them all ready to go. It felt a little strange to carry them out to the Trooper in sunny and 65 degree temps. Go figure! I phoned Mindy to let her know that I had our skis and that they looked good. We talked during most of my drive back to the office. The nice weather was expected to carry us through Thursday and then slowly roll back to more seasonal type conditions. We discussed taking Bella to Mad River on Saturday to ski. Jacob doesn’t want to go. Not quite ready for a return to the mountain. Currently, the Saturday forecast is calling for upper 20s – mid 30s and snow showers. Holding out hope that we’ll get an opportunity to try out our new skis before heading out of town next week. The afternoon in the office was a busy one. I was firmly entrenched in several issues just before my usual departure time. Out of nowhere, a nasty storm moved in with extremely high winds and driving rain reducing visibility to almost zero. We marveled at the storm’s ferocity out the center windows. The storm was brief. I took that as my queue to head home. It was just after 5:30pm. The forecast called for strong gusty winds from now through tomorrow morning. The sky was deep gray above and to the east. However, the sky was showing signs of clearing already on the western horizon. At the same time the sun was sinking, setting off one of the most spectacular double rainbows I have ever witnessed. The primary rainbow was the boldest, most defined rainbow ever. I attempted to photograph it with my Blackberry while driving. I had to laugh when I stopped at a traffic light and looked around at other drivers. Everyone it seemed had the same idea. All around folks were busy photographing the rainbow with their cell phones – a clear sign of the technological age we live in. My cell rang. It was Mindy pointing out the rainbow. I prompted her to grab my small camera and get some pics. The rainbow slowly faded a couple minutes after I arrived home. I carried our new skis in from the Trooper. I almost forgot about Mindy’s conference with Jacob’s teacher. Mindy quickly ducked out destined for Jacob’s school. She was meeting Jimaken there. I stayed home with the kids. I walked Ykraps while Jacob kept an eye on the wee ones. It was still quite warm and the wind was just beginning to kick up. The wind was gusting and there were even a few strikes of lightning. It had begun. For dinner Mindy left a plate of leftover roast and mashed potatoes in the microwave. Delicious and simple. She was gone about 45 minutes or so. I helped Mindy get the kids bathed, jammied, and tucked in soon after she got home. After the tuck-in we headed downstairs to relax – finally. Until 8:30pm, I worked on my blog. Afterwards, I headed to the family room to catch what was left of Idol. Didn’t realize it at the time, but the show went on until 10pm. This was the final cut before the main show. We headed to bed just after 10pm. The wind was gusting ferociously.