Last Day of School

It was Friday, but since this would be an on-call weekend my usual euphoric mood was at least somewhat tempered. Like most days, I completed my daily exercises then headed out with Ykraps. It was cool and cloudy – about 56 degrees. The day’s high wasn’t expected to pass the low 70s but promised lots of sunshine later. I was a bit anxious about my looming on-call and how it would compete with a host of family events. My weekend was almost entirely spoken for, and that was before considering the first project or chore. But that little voice inside my head reminded me to stay calm and focused. After all, I rarely fail to meet even the most demanding goals. Before heading out for a run, I did a brief meditation followed by a really good stretch. I am oodles more flexible for it. I wore a long sleeved wicking shirt to combat the slight chill in the air, but still wore shorts. The run went well. Mindy had fried eggs waiting my return. I washed them down with a big glass of OJ. Mindy & Bella departed after 7:30am. I headed for the shower at 7:35am. Jacob was out the door at the bus stop even before I finished primping/dressing for work. I guess he was excited about this being the last day of school. I met up with he and Jake a few minutes later. I took my camera thinking it important to capture the moment. Jake wasn’t feeling well. I teased him about looking so glum, this being the last day of school. Said he was tired. I photo’d both. Even though it was supposed to be sunny and warm, it was gray and chilly at 8:00am. Still, I held out hope for the better weather to come. After seeing Jacob onto the bus, I walked Ykraps in the backyard. I left for work at 8:15am. Once at work, it didn’t take long for the dreary gray morning to turn bright and sunny. My guess is near 9am. The boss and I planned a lunch outing at Chipotle. We left around noon. Meanwhile, the weather was ideal – about 72 and sunny. We got a table outdoors. I had their barbacoa (shredded beef) burrito. Delicious! The afternoon drug on a little bit due mostly to my earlier than usual lunch break. I stayed busy, though. By the time 5:30pm rolled around there was only one lingering issue following me into my on-call weekend. But because my evening peer was on vacation, I needed to be tuned in right away. Mindy had a retirement party to attend after school. She took Bella along. Because of her late arrival home, she made arrangements for my dad to greet Jacob off the bus. Dad was just leaving when I pulled up at home. He asked about Kelsea’s graduation party. We’d see him there around 1pm, we offered. At the same time, Jimaken was there to pick-up the kids. He was taking them for Friday night only since they’re heading to the Outer Banks this coming Friday. We won’t see them for the following two weekends. After the dust settled, I spent the next 30 minutes watering all the flowers. That served as a relaxing launch into the weekend. We left for Barleys around 7:30pm. Just before, I talked with my boss. That one lingering trouble was resolved! Wahoo! That made for a better start to my on-call. Barley’s wasn’t crowded at all, but housed a handful of our favorite peeps, including Bob Imber flying solo. Mary Ann was working. Also there were Steve Wonn and Calvin. Back on tap for the first time in maybe a year was Hoptopus. I ordered one of those. Mindy went with a Southern Tier Mokah – an Chocolate Imperial Stout. We ordered food even before my first beer was toast. We shared a pulled-pork quesadilla and an order of KC wings. We had a good time. Bob brought his Olympus camera similar to mine. On it he had photos of his recent golf outing with Steve Sines (former Muff Bros. front man). I was shocked at first, and didn’t think it possible that it was him. But after checking out the entire series it was pretty obvious that it was Steve. Not to be disrespectful, but boy has he aged. Of course it didn’t help that he’s now fully gray and sporting a serious beer belly. After all, it’s been almost 30 years! Rene joined us late. Must’ve been near 10pm. She wanted me to do a shot of J.D. Nope, not tonight. I bought her one, though. We left for home just before 11pm. All totaled, I consumed three beers, and all three were Hoptopus’. I drove home. We weren’t up too long. We headed for bed one after the other, but Mindy first. I checked the Reds score. They lost. Work was quiet.