Centennial & St Joan's

I woke on time and rather easily after a good night’s sleep. From the master bathroom I could see that the streets were wet from rain but couldn’t immediately discern whether or not it was still coming down. I knew before bed that a line of thunderstorms was expected to roll through over night. I didn’t hear them. Finally downstairs and starting my exercises, I could see that the rain had stopped. It remained dry through my walk with Ykraps. It was 54 degrees but falling fast. In fact, it was still above 70 before the rain moved through. And judging by the forecast I saw last night, our warm weather would be gone for the foreseeable future. Of course, no one predicted Tuesday was going to be 79 either. Things can change quickly. Mindy wasn’t at all excited about the prospects of getting up when I delivered her coffee. She shared her inability to get any meaningful sleep. She wasn’t sure why. I suggested that she call in sick and sleep all day. But she opted not, for having so much to do. Back downstairs, I read the Daily OM and some of brother Glenn’s blog. I saw something about mom having pneumonia. Good grief! Lately, she always seems to have something unpleasant going on. I worry about both her physical and emotional well being. After some time on the internet I got busy stretching and then meditating. It was a little bit after 6:30am when I dressed for my run, but I didn’t worry too much about the time. I dashed off for my run around 6:40am. This was one of those runs that went extremely fast having got lost in my own little world. I like it when that happens. My eggs were already prepared and waiting for me. Mindy fetched Landon while I began to eat. She handed him to me as soon as she got back downstairs. He was still tired and ill but noticeably better. He’s been asking for chocolate milk but we haven’t given him any while he’s been congested. He didn’t even ask this AM. I suspect he already knew the answer. I helped get the kids ready for departure as much as I could. I told Rocky & Landon to have fun with their mommy later this evening. This was a Mindy Wednesday! Jacob headed to his room even before his momma left. Just before I dashed off to the shower my cell phone rang. It was Mindy calling to inform me that Crissy called asking if Jake could come down at 7:45am since she had to leave for work early. Of course, I said. I joined the boys downstairs at 7:53am. We hung out at the bus stop for a solid 5 minutes before the bus finally came. Back at the house I quickly prepped and ran the dishwasher before heading out for work. It was 8:15am. By the time that I made it to work the temperature had already dropped to around 45 degrees. In fact, they’re predicting the low 20s tonight – yuck! The work day moved swiftly helped along by our weekly staff meeting. It was shorter than usual, however. I didn’t take a formal lunch hour, though I did eat my packed lunch, which included a whole can of tuna fish, from my desk. I left work just before 5:30pm. I was eager to get home and enjoy our alone time. Just like last Wednesday, Mindy dropped Rocky & Landon off to Lindsey on her way home. Jimaken picked up Jacob & Bella between 4:30 & 5:00pm. I called my mom on my drive home. We talked for several minutes, and she confirmed having a ‘mild’ case of pneumonia. She asked about the girls, kids, etc. I told her that Mindy & I may come down for a visit the weekend of the 28th - our next free weekend. I phoned Mindy after speaking with my mom. She was currently walking Ykraps saving me the trouble. We decided to go to Barley’s for a quick, quiet dinner. After both of us freshened up a bit, we left for Barley’s. It was 5:55pm when we backed out of the garage. The lot was heavily populated, but we got one of the few remaining close-up spots. But as is often the case, the bar wasn’t so crowded. Janet & Dan were working the bar, just like last week. I ordered a Centennial, and Mindy a St Joan’s Revenge. We wasted little time. Soon we placed our food order: brisket quesadilla, 10 KC wings, & 10 Texas wings. The food arrived less than ten minutes later. Dan joked with Mindy about her birthday antics from last Friday. Said he power washed her barf away. Sorry! We hung out at Barley’s until 7:10pm. It didn’t take long at all to drive home. We beat both parties: Jimaken and Lindsey. Jimaken arrived first, but Lindsey & Kelly pulled up a minute later. Jacob, Bella, and Rocky ran off to Jake and Makayla’s as soon as they got in the door. Landon cried for Rocky and then his mommy. Of course, he’s not old enough to dash off like the others. We told the older three to be home by 8pm, now just 20+ minutes off. Lindsey looked sad as she handed Landon off to Mindy. He cried a little bit but was fine a few seconds after she departed. He simply needed a good diversion. I provided that. I took him upstairs to brush his teeth and put on his pajamas. He loves to brush his teeth. By the time that we were back downstairs he was a happy little guy. The others were home just a minute or two later. We got them all ready for bed pretty quickly. It was just after 8pm by the time they were settled and we were both back downstairs. I used the next 30 minutes to write/edit some blog entries. I didn’t publish any, though. I was too tired. Plus, it was almost time for American Idol. It was 8:45pm when I hit the sofa. The next thing I knew it was 9:20pm, and I was waking from a deep sleep. Jasmine had been eliminated from Idol. I felt rested but my shoulder ached. Mindy massaged my aching shoulder for a solid five minutes. That nearly put me back to sleep. Somehow I managed to stay awake for the rest of Idol. Jorge was eliminated too. We headed up to bed at 10pm.