Imitating Death

Even after getting to bed a decent hour the night before, I woke a little late. If memory serves, it was 540am when I found my way to the kitchen. I completed my exercise routine then leashed up Ykraps for a walk. It felt much warmer, although it was still cold – about 20 degrees. There was another coating of new snow on the cars, walk and driveway, but it couldn’t have been more than an inch. Our walk was good. Ykraps finely pooped after a couple of days off. We passed Kenny on our way out. He was monkeying with his pick-up truck in an attempt to get it started. As we made our way back towards the house we spotted him again only this time moving swiftly down the sidewalk in the dark pointing. Had he lost it? Was it a criminal? I wasn’t sure. But then we spotted a big buck darting across the street into our backyard. That’s what he had already spotted seconds before us. We see deer almost daily, but spotting a buck is rare. As Ykraps stepped in the front door it appeared that he slipped on the metal threshold, but once I unleashed him he fell to the floor as if he were seizing, only this time he went totally limp and laid motionless on his side. I looked for signs of breathing, but there were none. I thought he was dead. For a brief second I was overcome with emotion. Then, after about ten seconds he gasped for air and opened his eyes. I was shocked! He then started seizing, albeit mildly. He sat there wobbling for about three or four minutes before it stopped and he rejoined me in the kitchen. I went about the rest of my pre run routine like normal. I woke Mindy with coffee in hand at 610am. I cut my PC time in half to get back the time I lost sleeping late. My mediation and stretching occurred at their typical time slot. I was ready for my run by 6:40am. I ran 4-miles. It went really well. Back home, I shoveled the new fallen snow and cleared Mindy’s car before heading inside for breakfast. She thanked me for my efforts. Soon she was off to school while Bella and I finished our breakfasts. We were at the bus stop at our normal time. After a little more time inside tidying up the kitchen, I was off to work. Like most days, I skipped a formal lunch break. It was definitely a busy day but that's not why I skipped lunch. As the day wound down I figured I'd try calling the crock-pot folks one more time before giving up totally. This time I used the phone sales option. That got me through to a live body, Brianna. She was more than gracious listening to my story. She explained that they don't stock hinged replacement lids for crock-pots. She said for all of my trouble she was sending us an entirely new crock-pot if that was acceptable. Ahhh- yeah! More than fair. Now we'll have three stainless steel timer crock-pots. hehehe! Actually I knew we'd get use out of them all, especially around the holidays. Feeling on a roll, I decided to try Thule again, too. They closed at 530pm and it was already 520pm. As I half expected, I waited on hold for ten minutes. I hung up at 531pm thinking I'd try to call again Wednesday. I left for home. The weather was in the mid 20's when I left work. It felt warmer than it's been all year. I called Mindy, she wanted to do Barley's. The kids, of course, were having dinner with their daddy. So, after walking Ykraps, Mindy and I left for Barley's. Stephanie, a rather new bartender, was working. We took two seats at a small table alongside the bar. The bar was full save for one seat at the very end. Calvin was seated at the table beside us. I ordered a Centennial IPA. Mindy ordered a Pint of Joe. Minutes later we placed food orders. I ordered a Cuban with bacon and fries. Mindy ordered their Brisket sandwich and greens. Mine was delicious. While eating dinner, Mindy chatted with Calvin. I watched the Buckeye/Purdue basketball game. We didn't stay too long. We left at 745pm. Mindy phoned Jimaken to let him know that he could bring the kids home sooner than planned. We were home by 8pm. Jimaken and the kids arrived at 815pm. While Mindy whisked Jacob off to the shower I plopped down in front of the fireplace (no fire) and fell asleep. And folks, that felt incredibly good! I woke just before 9pm to tuck in the kids then headed to bed.