Jacob's 3-Mile Run

It felt great to sleep as late as I wanted, which on Friday equated to about 730am. For many that isn’t exactly late, but I guess it’s relative to the alternative. Mindy asked for a hug as I slipped out of the room still fresh from brushing my teeth and quietly gathering my running clothes. The house was chilly and it was snowing outside – the first of any sort this season. In fact, it was snowing enough that there was at least a coating on the deck and nearby roofs. Timely, I thought, being the day after TG. I started my push-ups at the foot of Mindy’s Queen Anne recliner. As I tucked my toes I noticed that Ykraps had made it his personal piss station once again. My patience is growing thin, although at that the same time I realize there’s little he can do to control himself in his later years. After sit-ups, I checked the temperature. It was 35 degrees, much cooler than it’s been the past couple of weeks. I read a few Yahoo headlines before doing push-ups, but I didn’t wait long. Soon Ykraps and I were out taking in the season’s first snow. It was coming down hard enough to coat my black fleece. I wore and hand and ear covers to help combat the chill. Even while the snow accumulated on roofs and decks, it wasn’t sticking to the grass, road, or driveways. Traction wasn’t an issue. Back at home, I watered Ykraps then poured the day’s first cup of coffee. Afterwards, I found my pocket camera and headed to the deck to get a couple photos of the snow. I spent the next hour on the PC writing and surfing. Of particular interest was Apple.com, who was reportedly having a one-day sale on most of their electronics. I checked to see if the iTouch I wanted was, in fact, on sale. It was – about 11% off. Mindy offered to buy me one for Xmas. I planned to share the news with her later. When I hugged Mindy at my rise, she requested I bring her coffee. I took her some around 830am. At the same time, I opened the blinds so she could see the snow coming down. She and the kids didn’t come downstairs until near 9am. I could hear them upstairs giggling about something but I had not idea what. They all came down in a positive frame of mind. The kids were excited to see the snow. It went along nicely with the Xmas music we had whirling in the background, as well as Mindy’s recently placed decorations. I soon declared it time for my run. Jacob asked if he could join me. I quickly agreed, but also warned how daunting it might be trying to run 3 or 4 miles. He has some idea having rode his bike along side me a couple times past. I couldn’t detour him. He asked how he should dress. He wore two wicking shirts, just like me, and a pullover fleece. I made sure he wore a hat and hand covers too. We headed out following my usually path. I had already decided we’d go just three miles. After what I dub the warm-up lap, Jacob was doing fine, although I could hear his breathing becoming stressed. I gave him a few pointers on how he might conserve energy as we approached the first ½ mile mark. He wanted to continue. Because I loop through a number of courts I offered those as a great opportunity for him to rest and wait, but each time he’d follow. I routinely pointed out landmarks I assumed him familiar with just incase he wanted/needed to head back home, but he continued to follow my lead. I altered the route a little winding through the neighborhood park, again offering him a place to rest and pointing out where we could possibly meet up. But he kept following my lead. As we approached the 2 mile marker, I was moved by his deep determination and tenacity, even as he struggled to breathe. He was moaning and breathing really hard. I was a tad worried that he might collapse. I slowed my pace to help him get a little rest, and he did stop periodically to catch some wind but he never gave up. Each time he would run to catch me. The final mile was toughest for him. He complained about a number of body aches, and a couple of times I thought he was starting to cry, but he kept at it. I continued to encourage him and point out landmarks I knew he was familiar with to show him how close we were to finishing. I ran in circles a couple of times to keep him close. As we approached the O’Connell’s house, Jacob cut through the back yard dashing towards the back of our home. I stayed the usual course. He made it. He was already inside peeling off his sweaty clothes when I entered from the front. I’m impressed. Hopefully that’ll serve as a positive experience in his world. From my perspective, he showed a great deal of character by not quitting even when his body was telling him otherwise. I didn’t allow the sweat on my body to dry before heading out to the garage to fetch my new extension ladder, and eventually to the shed to hopefully fix the strand of icicle lights that weren’t lit. After a wiggle here and a jiggle there, the bad section flickered on and off. I made sure each of the bulbs in that given section was secured. The lights were now lit and stable. I turned them on and off a couple of times to make sure that it would hold. It did. I carried the ladder back to the garage then headed inside. The neighbor kids came down around 10am. Chrissy agreed to drive Kapil and Pabino (off to Nepal) to the airport while we watched her kids. Our house was soon bustling with activity. Mindy read with the girls and I did some writing. Jake and Jacob played in Jacob’s room, video games I think. I was really impressed with Lillian’s reading. She read with a great deal of timely expression, which is rare at her age – 8. I began feeling nappy and developed a bit of a headache. As a matter of fact, it seemed like the molar that’s scheduled to be crowned next week might be the cause. It’s funny, it didn’t bother at all until I went to the dentist for my scheduled check-up, and now I feel discomfort in it everyday. I headed to our bedroom, shut the door and turned on the TV. I watched some History channel program but can’t recall its title. The kids came in a time or two, but I quickly shewed them away. I needed a nap. I must’ve slept for about an hour and felt 100% better when I woke up. It sounded like Chrissy was over. I secured the door then got a much needed shower. Chrissy was still visiting with Mindy when I made my way downstairs. Apparently Mindy made lunch for everyone, everyone but me that is. Chrissy and her children left a few minutes after I showed up. I spent the afternoon reading in the family room. I’m ashamed to admit how little reading I’ve done this past year. I am still working on Jim Tressel’s book and have three more waiting. I’ll say this about Tressel’s book, each time I pick it up I find more inspiring stories ripe with valuable life lessons. Meanwhile, the day seemed to be flying by, an all too familiar spin to a holiday weekend spent at home. Soon the day’s light faded into gray and even faster into dark. Jimaken arrived around 5pm to fetch the kids. By then I was reading again only this time from a chair in the living room. We planned on visiting Barley’s but not until 7pm or so. I used the time ahead of our departure to do more writing and reading. I also ordered my iTouch from Apple.com complements of Mindy, who also encouraged me to get the sound dock. But after further investigation it looked like a better deal picking one up at a brick n’ mortar thus saving ourselves $10 in shipping charges. Mindy wandered down to the neighbors to drop off some artificial snow and a candle. She was back in a jiffy after finding no one there. She left the goods on the porch. We left for Barley’s at 7pm. Barley’s was fairly crowded. Somehow I’d overlooked the fact that Mark Pansing was expected in. He was sitting in his old seat at the corner of the bar along side of Steve Won. Mark’s been living in Arizona for the past year or so, and this is his first visit back home since the big move. He’s been missed. We were hoping to see Bob & Mary Ann but they didn’t stop in. Reckoned they were out of town for the holiday weekend. I started with a Bitter Dan and Mindy a Pint-of-Joe. As the evening wore on Mindy and I agreed to share a Texas Barley burger. Believe me, it hit the spot. I consumed three beers during our visit, one being a DuganA IPA. Mindy had a second Pint-of-Joe. We stayed about three hours – long enough for the effects of 3 beers to diminish so I could safely drive home. We talked about paying a visit to Chrissy & Kenny, but once we were home Mindy asked if we could hot tub and talk instead. That’s what we did. We stayed up until nearly midnight.