Parallel Universes

I was up and downstairs by 5:40am after a not so good night’s sleep. For starters, I was up around 3:30am peering out the windows looking for criminals after hearing that neighbor Mike’s work truck was broken into a couple weeks ago. That sorta news always pisses me off. Second of all, I was worried about daughter Courtney. It’s a good thing I took three naps Monday evening or there’s a good chance I would’ve had an even harder time getting up. I completed my push-ups and sit-ups then leashed up Ykraps and headed out for a walk. It was a lovely, clear morning and 71 degrees. The extended forecast is calling for sunshine and mid 80‘s through the upcoming weekend. If that hold up, it’ll be our warmest, driest stretch of summer yet. And as Mindy will tell you, just in time for her return to school. L I played on the PC until 6:30am and then quickly moved onto meditation and stretching. That went well. I was ready to run by 6:45am. The sun was just coming up over the horizon as I set. It was a gorgeous sunrise indeed. The run went really well, seemed almost effortless, and very therapeutic. After my run I noticed that the deck fountain was off again. I went to the basement and found the breaker tripped. That was the second time in as many days. There’s obviously something wrong with either the circuit or the fountain pump. I’ll have to troubleshoot it more thoroughly later. Resetting the breaker did the trick. I wasn’t too hopeful that it would hold, however. As usual, I packed my lunch and made a cheese omelet for breakfast. I finished breakfast and headed off to the shower at 7:45am. I took Mindy some coffee thinking that she needed to be up. I guess I was wrong. She wasn’t heading into school after all. I was showered and dressed by 8:05am. Mindy got up and joined me for coffee before I left for work. I left the house at 8:15am. Mindy kindly moved the Honda so that I could drive the BM’er. Off I went. Work went well. As busy as we were on Monday, it was that calm on Tuesday. I thought about leaving for lunch but had no pressing errands to run. I ended up staying back at the office and working through lunch. I enjoyed my packed veggies and fruit around 2pm. I didn’t hear from Mindy all day long. And I half expected to hear from Courtney but she didn’t call either. All quiet on the family front. Last I knew, Mindy talked about having leftover tacos for dinner. I left for home around 5:15pm and arrived just after 5:35pm. No one was around. No Mindy. No kids. On the counter was the crockpot. Inside, I didn’t know what. I leashed up Ykraps and headed out the door. It was a lovely, yet steamy summer evening. Ykraps lifted his leg a number of times but was dry. I guessed that Mindy must’ve walked him before I got home. She came out just as we were getting ready to cross the street and come back home. She confirmed that she’d already walked him. I was hungry. Mindy informed me that we were having pot roast and mashed potatoes – not your typical summer meal. That sounded terrific. As terrific as the pot roast sounded, it tasted even better. I ate more than my share. She made canned corn and crescent rolls, too. Neighbor Makayla came down to stay with us while her momma ran to the grocery. She wasn’t hungry. Said she’d already eaten at her grandparents home. Soon all the kids dashed outside to play. After cleaning up the dinner dishes, I suggested that Mindy give Courtney a call. They talked for a short time while I went outside to water. Courtney promised to call back in short order. By the time that she called back, I was in working on updating my blog. They talked for a while, with Mindy expressing most of our shared concerns. Courtney asked if she could come over and finish talking face to face. We agreed. She showed up all the while the kids were outside playing with friends. The three of us sat at the kitchen table talking. I sipped on a rum drink at the same time. I warned her that I was going to be frank and to the point. I did my level best to communicate our concerns without tearing her down unnecessarily. I feel that we did a good job. Mindy added valuable input as well. Courtney seemed to take it well. When we finished talking, Courtney shared her thoughts. She didn’t stay all that long. Mindy got the kids in the house and ready for bed. While they showered, Mindy popped two bags of popcorn for all four of us to share. It was ready just s the kids finished their getting into their pajamas. We enjoyed popcorn while watching a program about a relatively new theory about the evolution of our universe on the History Channel. Very cool. In a nut shell, the theory goes that the universe keeps dividing and creating new parallel universes. It’s just a theory, but one that’s gaining a lot of steam fast. We all headed to bed around 1030pm.