No Golf but Dinner with the Wife at Barleys

I woke around 5:10am and briefly contemplated getting up, but decided to try to fall back asleep instead. I slept until 5:25am and then got up for good. I beat the irrigation system. It kicked on while I was brushing my teeth. For whatever the reason, it didn’t sound as loud as usual. I completed my exercise routine and then headed out with Ykraps. I felt like my upper back needed to crack and/or pop. I could shake it. We walked to the east after one of the rare times I let Ykraps dictate our direction. It was trash day. Our can was already at the curb and stuffed beyond full. I stressed over the fact that Mindy already had another overstuffed bag in the kitchen. After walking Ykraps I took it out and forced in into the already full can. I felt much better after. J I spent the usual amount of time playing on the PC and stopped around 6:15 to meditate and stretch. I was finished with both early. I was ready to head out the door by 6:35am. Before launching, I noticed that the trash truck hadn’t yet been by. That’s unusual. My run went well. Another easy four miles under lovely summer conditions. I happened upon the trash truck apparently starting form the back of the subdivision. In all my years, that’s a first. Not sure if it’s one time thing or a permanent change. Doesn’t really matter to me. I was back by 7:17am. I threw the frying pan on the stove over medium-high heat. I decided on an omelet. I packed a lunch at roughly the same time. I was finished packing and eating by 7:40am. Off to the shower. I delivered Mindy’s coffee. She shared that the quality of her sleep was poor. I shared my thoughts about the fridge AEP was to pick up. It was still warm, by the way, even after running all night long. I suggested that we unplug it and play dumb telling then that we didn’t know it needed to be running and that we carried it up form the basement to make their job easier. Mindy agreed. I shower quickly. By the time I was out and getting dressed I noticed that Mindy was up and out of bed. After glancing out the window I noticed a large moving truck out front. I guessed the fridge guy was here early. He was. Mindy was dealing with him while still in her PJs and robe. I caught a glimpse of a big kid loading it onto the back of the rented truck. Goodbye Fridge! That’s a big relief. I’ve been fretting over getting rid of that thing for three years. It was still before 8am. I was slightly ahead of schedule. Mindy & Bella headed outside to sit on the patio and deck. I loaded my golf clubs into the BM’er. I forgot to mention that Lindsey phoned Mindy the evening before and asked if she and boys could come over on Wednesday since Kelly (her mother) was on vacation. In other words, she didn’t want to be at home all day with Kelly. I’m guessing the feelings are mutual – sadly. Mindy still wasn’t sure, however. She didn’t feel all that good after a poor night’s sleep. I understood. I left for work at 8:10am with golf clubs in tow. My new driver barely fits in the trunk, but I got it in. I arrived at work before 8:30am even after stopping to fill-up with gas. It took just under 10 gallons and set me back about $24. The morning went well. We had our usual Wednesday staff meeting that last until 1pm. I spent the entire afternoon meeting with my team members individually, something I’ve been doing all week. That consumed the lion’s share of my afternoon. I was preparing to leave for golf at 4:30pm. But late in the afternoon, Bob Imber emailed to let me know that it didn’t look good for golf. He was buried and expected it to remain that way until perhaps even 7pm. Yuck! I was a little bummed but also looked at the bright side. I knew my wife would appreciate a surprise dinner date. I let Mindy know for sure once I got another confirming email from Bob that he was definitely out just before 4:00pm. She was just prearing to leave the pool, where she'd spent her afternoon along with daughter Lindsey, Rocky, and Landon. I went ahead and left work at 4;30pm anyhow having arranged my schedule accordingly all day long. I don’t think anyone heard me enter the house. Jimaken arrived minutes after me to fetch the kids. I still had my back pack over my shoulder when he came to the front door. Mindy was upstairs. She was surprised to come down to see the kids off only to find me already sitting at the PC. After the kids left and after walking Ykraps together, Mindy headed upstairs to finish getting ready for our dinner date. I used the time to water flowers out back. I watered for a good 20 minutes. And even though I’ve got the irrigation system running everyday, I could easily see signs of stress in a few areas of the lawn. But that often happens after a drawn out cloudy, rainy spell. The first sunny, hot and dry weather takes its toll. I figured I’d hit those dry spots when we got home later along with watering the front flowers really good. We left for Barley’s at 5:40pm. It wasn’t very crowded but most of the bar stools were taken. Lucky for us, a couple patrons left soon after we arrived. Janet was working along with a new girl, Gina, who we later learned is the daughter of the folks that own Gentiles, a Grandview wine and beer cellar. Cool! Mindy wanted a glass of wine. I ordered a Centennial IPA. We didn’t place our food order until my first beer was almost gone. I ordered KC wings and Mindy ordered a mini-quesadilla. Both were $5 since it was happy hour. I ordered an Avery Maharaja IIPA for my second and last beer. And man was it good. Sitting beside me was a gentleman I’ve seen in more than a few times, Mark Bruck. I got to talking with him. He owns his own paving company and eventually shared his entire life story. He’s been in business for himself since his teenage years when his dad passed away. He grew up in Arlington but was quick to point out, “in the poor part.” He knew a few people that Mindy mentioned, both doctors and one her cardiologist. Went to high school with both. He took the cardiologists phone number since he has a friend with heart trouble but no money to have the trouble addressed. He held out hope that he might take on the case as service to his community. I found Mark entertaining. Shared a few stories about snow skiing in Utah with his wife, and then some that caused Mindy to sing La-La-La and plug her ears. We settled up and left for home at 7:25pm. As an extra act of kindness, Mindy slipped Janet an $20 bill to put towards Deanna and Sarah’s tab, two Barley servers who stopped in for beers on their day off. Paying it forward so to speak. We arrived home near 7:45pm. I took almost immediately to watering the front flowers. I chatted with cross-the-street neighbor Carl for a bit. I shared how much I liked the new colors used on his house trim. The painters finished a couple days ago. He shared what he had just learned earlier in the day about Gold Grill. Jim arrived with the kids near 8pm. Just before they pulled up, Mindy headed down to chat with Kenny. The kids spotted her and soon followed. Mindy returned to grab a glass of wine just as I was finishing the watering. I had her take me a cold Mojo IPA. I promised to meet her at Kenny & Chrissy’s in a few minutes. We hung out with the neighbors until 10pm. They were just eating dinner when I arrived, which would’ve been about 8:45pm. Just before Mindy, the kids and I headed home, David & Becky stopped over. I couldn’t stay. I had to be up at 5:30am in the morning. We all headed home and jumped into bed even before 10:30pm.