Becoming Nine

Happy 9th Birthday Jacoby!!! The last 30 minutes of sleep felt incredibly good. I didn’t want to get out of bed given my druthers. But, in order to provide the lifestyle I’ve grown accustom to, getting up was the only real option. I was downstairs getting after my exercise routine by 5:30am. I did sit-ups, push-ups, and curls. A look outside revealed bright moonshine and stars, something we’ve been lacking all week long. Before heading out with Ykraps I choked down three more Ibuprofen, part of my ‘scheduled Ibuprofen’ as Mindy likes to call it. Of late, my neck spasms occur while working at my desk, and by the time I head home from work I’ve got knots as big as Texas in my upper middle back. It was a tad chilly but the clear skies more than made up for what the cool temps. We had it on good word that spring would be back in abundance by mid-afternoon. Yahoo! We haven’t seen 70 in quite a while now. Back home, I sipped coffee and enjoyed time in front of the PC. The day’s OM was enlightening - a reminder that our collective intentions can have a profound impact on the world around us. What are you intending today? Like most other days, I delivered coffee to Mindy’s bedside. I played until 6:10am when I went to stretch and meditate. I left for my run feeling really good. Because the sky was clear for the first time in almost a week, I was surprised at the abundance of daylight at my run’s outset. The sky was already blue. We’ve made it! My run went very well. I felt really good. Mindy had a pile of scrambled eggs awaiting my return. Jacob stood quietly staring out the back door. It was his birthday. I gave him a hug and wished him a happy 9th b-day. Bella was going to grandma Sharon’s (no school on Thursday’s). Mindy and I discussed our dinner plans briefly just as she and Bella were leaving. We planned to meet at Red Lobster around 5:45pm for Jacob’s b-day dinner. I headed up for shower at 7:35am. I returned downstairs ready to go by 7:50am. With the few minutes I had before bus stop time, I pulled the Trooper onto the street making way for the BM’er. Jacob and I walked to the bus stop at 7:55am. I took my camera along, mostly so I’d have it later at dinner. But since I had it out, I took a few pictures from the bus stop. What a lovely morning it was. Just gorgeous! I secured the house and made sure I had all of my gear in hand. Off to work in the BM’er. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It was a perfect BM’er morning. Work was busy, just as I expected. The weather only got nicer and nicer. I manufactured a reason to leave the office for lunch. I decided to make my annual early season trip to Strader’s on Riverside Dr. just to walk the nursery and check out flowers as well as their other offerings. Ohio Mulch is directly across the street, I drove their first to look at natural stepping stone varieties and their various grades of mulch. I spent just five minutes there. I was at Strader’s far longer – about 40 minutes. It was uplifting to be amongst my friends – the flora. I drove back to work with all sorts of planning/planting ideas for the 2009 version of our yard. I ate some tuna and fruit for lunch. I heard from Mindy somewhere mid-afternoon. She was picking up her mother and still planning to meet me at Red Lobster around 5:45pm. I organized myself to leave work at 5:15pm. And as luck would have it, I-270 was backed up almost to a stand still. I reminded myself to remain calm. That helped tremendously. Let’s face it, sometimes we get all worked up when nothing’s really at stake. I used the time to reflect positively. Even in spite of the gnarly traffic, I still arrived at Red Lobster early – 5:35pm. Mindy & company wasn’t yet there either. I walked around the outside of the place taking pictures. I kept myself preoccupied. They arrived around 5:55pm. That Georgesville ramp off of I-270 gets backed up more than any other that comes to mind. I was lucky. The restaurant wasn’t nearly as busy as it can be around the dinner hour. We were seated quickly, and in an extra large booth. Bella and Jacob both clamored to sit by their mother leaving their grandmother awkwardly sitting alone on one side. Jacob finally gave in and moved. I almost did. Amanda was our waitress. She was aptly attentive. Jacob ordered first, after all, it was his birthday dinner. He ordered the Ultimate Feast, which comes with crab legs, lobster tail, and two styles of shrimp. He always asks that both be scampi. Mindy duplicated Jacob’s order with the exception of the side. She went with broccoli while he went with a baked potato. He eats an awful lot for a young boy. I quipped that the only place I wanted to eat out at nine years of age was BBF. Bella ordered from their kid’s menu – macaroni and cheese with fries. Gloria went only with a baked potato. That’s it. I ordered a new menu item: wood grilled peach bourbon BBQ shrimp & scallops over a bed of rice pilaf served with a garden salad.Jacob and Mindy had salads, too. I mentioned that it was Jacob’s b-day to Amanda. The food was pretty good, especially for Red Lobster. Jacob ate all of his meal in quick fashion. Hard to believe, but he was still hungry. Asked whether or not we’d be doing dessert, Jacob replied, yes! He ordered their chocolate lava cake. Amanda brought extra spoons for the table. A couple other waiters/waitresses joined for the singing of happy birthday. Jacob ran out of gas about halfway through his treat. I jumped in after and was awestruck by its warm, gooey texture and scrumptious flavor. All totaled, I had about 5 or 6 bites.

Jacob asked if he could ride home with me in the BM’er. Yes, of course. Mindy had to drop her mother at home. In kind, we beat them home by ten minutes. Mindy promptly prepared the tiny little b-day cake she bought to celebrate Jacob’s birthday. We sang happy b-day again. He’s the only one who ate cake. While Mindy went to change into her PJs, Jacob, Bella, and I went for a walk. We took Ykraps along, too. We walked to the other bridge crossing the creek that winds through our subdivision. Bella was sitting, straddling the metal guard rail when we dubbed it time to cross the street and head back towards home. She’s so small that she couldn’t quite get her feet to touch the ground. In trying to do so she fell scraping her crotch on the rails edge. OUCH! And anyone who knows Bella knows she’s not shy about crying. Oh yeah! But thankfully, more than anything, her ego was bruised. She quickly leaped to my side and stopped crying. We headed home. At home, Mindy got both kids ready for bed while I updated my blog and downloaded pictures. Mindy and I watched Office and 30 Rock. Mindy headed to bed even before 9:40pm. I watched 30 Rock until its end then joined her already in bed.