Dancing with Myself

I slept well, not waking even once until 545am. I popped up and out of bed in a hurry. I glanced out the masterbath window expecting to see inclement weather given last night’s winter storm warning, but there was nothing to see but dry streets. Hmm? So much for school being canceled. Jacob would be so disappointed. I slowly stretched out on the livingroom floor for my sit-ups. They went quick. Soon I was up and on the computer checking the weather forecast. Still calling for oodles of snow through tomorrow – upwards of 13 inches. Funny thing is, I just wrote about the lack of a big snow storm this winter just a couple days ago. I did my push-ups then poured some coffee. It was already 603am. I spent just a couple more minutes on the PC before waking Mindy with coffee in hand. She was groggy but said she slept good. She also thanked me for taking care of the kids. I joked that I let them stay up ‘til 11pm. I headed back downstairs to meditate, stretch, and prep for a run. I was ready for my run by 635am. It was 34 degrees so layering was kept to a minimum. I was very comfortable and the run in turn went extremely well. During my run, I found myself pondering the what-if’s relative to the Super Bowl weekend now upon us. The game was ours for the taking. I still haven’t let it go, and may never fully. Having a wandering mind helped make the run go by in a snap. I was back home for breakfast quick. Still no snow. I let Mindy know there was no need to warm the Honda. Not only was there no snow, but it was fairly warm too. She said she felt a whole lot better after 11 hours of sleep. My fried eggs, English muffin, and juice were setting at my favorite spot. Breakfast was delicious. Mindy left a few minutes after 730am, and shortly after brushing/fixing Bella’s hair. I was off to the shower before Mindy had even backed out of the driveway. Twenty minutes later I was downstairs with both children preparing for departure. With a few small, scant piles of Tuesday’s snow still lying around, I quietly made a snowball with Jacob in mind as my target. And as luck would have it, he came charging right at me playing right into my plan. Woosh! Damn – just missed him. Everybody got a laugh out of it – even Jacob. Kenny was at the bus stop with the girls. We chatted briefly. He was staying home today with the expected snow just to our immediate west. I walked back home to make final work preparations and then enjoy another cup of coffee. I checked the weather radar. Looked like the rain/snow/sleet was just to our west and south. And just south of I-270 it looked to be mostly rain/sleet. I left for work at 819am. The center was all abuzz about the coming snow, although for the time being, it was still dry as a bone. We joked about the hype & hysteria. It was a doozy of a work day. And because I'd be on-call over the weekend, I was even more plugged in than usual. The snow started around 10am and began to accumulate right away. Checking the radar, it looked like rain to our south, but it was all snow in Hilliard. It continued snowing all day. I had my ski boots in the Trooper but there was little chance of me heading all the way up to Polaris in the wintry conditions. I suddenly regretted not finding/making time Thursday, although the odds of skiing over the weekend were small given that I'd be on-call. Work would have to be crazy calm to permit such a move. I toughed it out at the office until just after 5pm. The drive home was incredibly slow on I-270 south, but I didn't mind. My goal was to arrive in one piece. The kids were already gone when I arrived home. And even though we were in the middle of the season's biggest snow storm, Mindy was off to the grocery. Even though Mindy & Kenny had shoveled our driveway, I couldn't get traction and slid back into the street multiple times when I tried to park. After the third try I decided to shovel more. It was a slick, wet snow, thus the sliding. I shoveled and salted before pulling the Trooper back up. Meanwhile, the snow was coming down so hard that I needed to shovel again before going in the house. Before Mindy arrived home with groceries, I loaded another batch of CD's onto my hard drive. Mindy was home from the grocery around 630pm. We carried in the haul as a team. She carried from the outside to the garage, and I carried from the garage into the kitchen to prevent our freshly mopped floor from getting snowy, dirty. Thanks Rachel! Mindy got dressed for Barley's soon after putting the groceries away, and must've spent about ten minutes doing so. As soon as she finished, I freshened up, too. We left the house at approximately 710pm. During our short drive, I went on and on about issues at work. I could tell that Mindy was more concerned about the hazardous weather conditions than she ever was about my work story, but I could've shared it with a wall and would've been satisfied. I just needed to vent. We arrived at Barley's around 725pm. We stood for the first 15-30 minutes until a couple bar stools opened up. As good as it felt to stand for spell, it felt equally good to relax on a bar stool. Most of our regular peeps were noticeably missing and now on our naughty list. Not there: The Imber's, Tom C., Doug & Jamie, Steve W., Christa, Lil' Bob & Carol. Dan the money man was there, and so was Calvin. However, he left a few minutes after we arrived. I started with a Centennial while Mindy sipped a Southern Tier Raspberry Porter. Mindy ordered food - a kids menu grilled cheese and fries. I made the mistake of not eating anything. I'd regret that come Saturday. I saw on the guest draft menu, The Brew Kettle's double IPA. I was excited to have one. It came served in a sniffer. It went down easy, too easy, in fact. Mindy intimated that we might leave after my second beer and head to the neighbors for a while. But at about the same time Rick came in all charged up and sharing news of his first grandchild's birth. Sharing in his good news, we agreed to a toast, his treat. I ordered another TBK IIPA. Not sure what Mindy had. Well, that second IIPA turned into a third. Soon I was rocked. While sitting at the bar we befriended a 52 year old blonde, who's name now escapes me. She was forward and funny. She and Mindy hit it off nicely. Claimed to be a regular. Surprised we hadn't met her prior. We left for home around 10-1030pm. Mindy phoned the neighbors on our drive home. They invited us over. Mindy changed into more comfy clothes then we walked over. Already buzzed, I took two beers along from my home collection - a CBC IPA and a Hop Slam. Uh-oh! As we walked two houses over, Kapil pulled up along side us. We invited he and Peobina over too. We knew Kenny & Chrissy wouldn't mind. We weren't there long before I got to dancing. Mindy & Chrissy danced some, too, but Jake and I danced the most. I'll admit, sometimes, once you get going, I am hard to stop. At some point Chrissy disappeared into her room never to be seen again. Mindy soon left but said I could stay and play. At the same time, Kapil and Peobina arrived. From that point forward I lost track of time. I know this, however. We kept dancing for a time to come. Next thing I knew I was walking (stumbling) for home. I was eager to get into bed and get some shut eye.