Ice Ice Baby

I woke only once in the middle of the night and believe it was somewhere close to 3am. At the time, my sinuses were stuffed up and I worried briefly that I might be coming down with a cold. However, it wasn’t my sinuses that woke me as much as it was the bad dream I was having. I dreamt, as I have many times past, that I was out in my boat and it was starting to sink. I became panicked and woke up short of breath. I struggled to get back to sleep until the last hour. Go figure! I was happy to find the sky at least somewhat clear but the air was quite chilly. According to Weatherbug, it was 42 degrees. I did my sit-ups and push-ups then leashed up Ykraps. We headed out around 5:47am. Down the steps and down the driveway my knee showed no signs of trouble. And for that matter, not during our walk either. I had a few minutes of coffee time before waking Mindy, long enough to check the final score for SNF. The Colts won easily. After delivering Mindy’s coffee I spent a little more time reading the Daily OM as well as a few other headlines. I started meditating and stretching at 6:20am. Both went well. I was careful with my knee. I dressed for my run in long loose running pants, two layers of wicking shirts, and gloves. I thought about ear covers but decided against it last second. Not until the temp dips below freezing. I stretched again from the front porch before carefully dashing off. Because of the recent knee troubles I don’t dare start running until I’m on level ground down by the street. Like the last 8 or 9 mornings, I couldn’t start without a limp, but unlike the other days, it was corrected within the first couple hundred yards. I was able to establish a somewhat normal pain-free stride while still in what I deem my warm-up lap. Except for a few slight twinges, I ran the entire three miles pain-free and without incident. As you might imagine, I was elated! Time will tell for sure, but the icing seems to be having a profoundly positive impact. I’m going to continue to elevate and ice it for the next several evenings while continuing to run just three miles. I can’t begin to describe the joy I was feeling at run’s end. I kept it to myself once inside. I waited until Mindy asked. She was just shoveling my two fried eggs from our new 10” omelet pan. Just as you might expect, I was in an excellent mood. Mindy left for work at her usual 7:30am. By then, I was already in clean-up mode and ready for a shower. I was showered a dressed in a jiffy. Bella was already at the front door imploring me to hurry so not to miss the bus. In reality, we had oodles of time. Chrissy was doing bus duty this morning instead of Kenny. We chatted for a few. Said Mindy’s chili caused her stomach issues Saturday middle of the night. The bus was there and gone by 8:03am. I returned home and spent a few more minutes gathering my work gear, including powering down my laptop for travel. I headed into work arriving right about 8:30am. Neither my boss nor my peer was in. Both were out ill. I had to go it alone L I was pretty busy all morning. I still planned to leave for lunch, but once it got close to 1245pm I really got busy and it just kept coming. That’s how it goes sometimes. Lucky for me, I didn’t have anything pressing needing done, so I resigned myself to working straight through and ate my packed lunch at my desk around 2pm. The afternoon breezed by. I talked with Mindy sometime after 4pm. I shared my plan to leave around 5pm and stop at Home Depot to see if they had replacement keys for Toro mowers. I lost mine Sunday while mowing. It just fell out of the electric start tumbler. When I get a replacement I will tether it to the frame should it bounce out again. I’ve walked the yard a few times hoping to find it. I focused on the areas where it gets the roughest treatment, but to no avail. I left the office just after 5pm and made my stop at Home Depot. I browsed the mower aisle but never did find spare keys. There wasn’t anyone around to ask for help. It wasn’t an emergency. I left for home. In fact, if push came to shove, I could simply pull start it. I arrived home just after 5:30pm. I expected Mindy to be home but she wasn’t. I knew she had to stop at Deana’s to pick-up the kids. I guess she was busy talking. That’s always a good bet! I quickly rinsed and loaded my lunch containers into the dishwasher and prepped Tuesday’s coffee. Next, I leashed up Ykraps and headed out for a walk. I was back home with Ykraps and still no Mindy. Not for long, however. She and the kids pulled up just before 6pm. By then, I was busy foolin’ around on the PC. Earlier, we made plans to eat leftovers for dinner. I was looking forward to my War Su Gai. Mindy helped both kids with their homework while heating leftovers – Bella with reading and Jacob with spelling words. Bella read her latest book to me after finishing with her mother. She’s still struggling with her reading. Dinner was ready in short order. The Chinese wasn’t as good the first day, in part because the crisp was missing from the chicken, but it was still tasty and filling. I ate two helpings and there’s still some left for another day. Clean-up was a breeze. We used paper plates. I treated myself to a Bella birthday brownie after – now about ten days old, but still good. Afterwards, I changed into my PJs. I was eager to start icing my knee. As soon as I got back downstairs, Jake and Jacob begged me to play football. I resisted their persistent overtures. At roughly the same time, Mindy suggested we build a fire. It was a good evening for it. It was chilly. When I went out for firewood, the boys asked yet again if I would play. After another no, I acquiesced and agreed to five minutes of all-time quarterbacking. They couldn’t agree on who would kick-off and receive until I threatened to head back inside. I ended up playing for about 15 minutes. It was 2 to 2 when we stopped just before dark. They ended mad at one another, of course. Almost always do. I felt a twinge in my knee when I punted on a kick-off even though it was with my opposite leg. That served as enough of scare to avoid anymore unnecessary running around. In the house, I went about getting the first fire of the season going. The few layers of logs we have remaining outside were fairly wet after all the recent rain, but the wood is well-seasoned and at least two years old - a reminder that I need to get another load soon. After starting a fire, I got the ice pack ready and my Tressel book out then snuggled up in the large familyroom chair. The chair sits off to the side of the fireplace, so I couldn’t really enjoy the ambiance of the fire but that was secondary to my reading and icing. I sat reading and icing for the next couple of hours, and at some point, like most other nights, I dosed off briefly. I woke and went upstairs to tuck in the children then returned for more icing and football. Mindy headed to bed at the two-minute warning. I followed at halftime.