Celebrating Jacob at 10

Happy 10th Birthday Jacoby As anticipated, I got up at 530am and began my morning routine like any other workday. By 6am I was done with exercise, coffee, and PC time. Like a few other days this week, I completed meditation before heading up to wake Mindy. After my return, I had only to stretch and dress before a run. I was out the door by 630am. Skies were mostly clear and the temperature still mild – about 55 degrees. The day’s high was expected to reach into the 70’s but with a chance of afternoon showers followed by sinking temps. Facing a significant cool down, we weren’t expecting to break out of the 50’s all weekend. The upside being mostly sunny skies. I ran four miles with only mild discomfort in my right knee. I was back at home shortly after 7am to help get the family breakfast moving. However, more importantly, it was Jacob’s 10th birthday. Mindy was baking cinnamon rolls to commemorate the event. While Mindy went to the basement to fetch his gift, I sought the birthday songs brother Glenn emailed me for my 50th. I let the birthday tunes play while we celebrated with Jacob. He didn’t care much for the music. Come to think of it, Mindy didn’t either. She asked me to turn it off after Jacob blew the candles out. We presented Jacob with his gift, a set of junior-sized golf clubs. Couldn’t tell whether or not he really liked the idea. Said he did, though. Before Mindy departed for school she asked me to deliver cookies to Jacob’s classroom, a birthday celebration tradition. I agreed. Would likely do so on my way in. The kids were at the bus stop at 755am. On my way out I transferred my golf clubs from the BM’er to the Trooper. I hoped to hit the range later. At the time, it was gorgeous, clear skies and 60. We were expecting Rachel during the day. I picked up the kitchen before heading out. I stopped at the Hilliard Kroger on my way in to pick-up cookies for Jacob’s classroom. Mindy said to get two dozen, but I got four. I headed towards his school, which is less than a mile from the Kroger. His classroom was still locked. His teacher apparently running late. I was gonna drop the cookies off in the office when suddenly I caught a glimpse of his teacher rushing in to unlock her door. I did a quick about face and dropped them off directly to her. Off to work. Work was busy, about what one should expect for a Friday. I stayed busy in my office all morning long, being somewhat anti-social. I left for lunch and the driving range around 1245pm. Wouldn’t you know that is exactly the same time that our blessed blue skies turned to gray and ushered in a quick storm. I refused to be intimidated by the sudden weather. Instead, I altered my plan slightly by opting to hit a bucket of balls from the covered tees. While making my purchase, I left a check for JR to cover my lesson earlier in the week. He wasn’t in. The weather vacillated between storms and sunshine a couple of times while I hit golf balls. I focused most of my attention on my irons hitting most of them well, and without too much thinking. Buying a jumbo bucket, my arms were like spaghetti after. I think the jumbo bucket is 110 balls. That’s a bunch! Instead of heading right back to the office, I decided to drive north on Avery towards Dublin proper and swing my MAG BMW hoping to see the new 328i convertible. Like a lot of dealers these days, MAG is a series of dealerships including Land rover, VW, Jeep, and Mercedes. I passed everyone of them except BMW. I even went around the huge loop twice. I gave up chalking it up to fate and headed back to work. The afternoon was mild by comparison to most Fridays. For that I was most appreciative. I talked with Mindy late afternoon. Said Jacob had a good birthday at school. Mindy phoned as I drove towards home. She was next door at Kenny’s. The kids were already gone with Jimaken. We chatted only briefly. I planned to phone my mom like I often do on my Friday drive home. My mom sounded better than she has many times past, but shared that she’s still in considerable pain and is now dealing with a knee issue. She also shared that Uncle Chuck and his new wife should be home Saturday after wintering in Vegas. They’re driving. Went on about not caring for Glenn’s pal Judy. Said he already has a mother. I did my best to encourage her to embrace the relationship as good. We chatted through my entire drive home. The house was clean and quiet. Mindy walked in the door from the neighbors only minutes after my own arrival. We briefly discussed the day before I declared myself ready for a nap, although I wasn’t really that tired. I find napping a great way to transition from work to weekend. We planned to visit Barley’s afterwards. I napped for maybe 40 minutes total but everytime I started to dose off Mindy’s phone would ring waking me up. I woke feeling refreshed at 655pm. Mindy readied for the go while I played around on the PC. We left for Barley’s around 730pm. I drove. I shared my limited knowledge of the Ben Rothlisberger story with Mindy during our drive. What an Oaf. The lot was packed, but that’s become commonplace for a Friday. Right away, Mindy spotted our acquaintances, Leslie and Jack sitting in the same place that Doug & Jamie were in last Tuesday. We chatted with the two of them for a while or until Tom C. showed up. Mindy took a stool by Jack & Leslie while Tom and I got caught up. At long last, Barley’s finally got some new shirts with bright green or pink print on black. I really liked the green and asked for one, my fourth. Nephew Joe & Jerry joined us at some point. We yucked it up with all of our Barley pals until late into the evening. Mindy ended up having a second beer and didn’t really want to drive. I had four. There was no way I was gonna drive. We called Chrissy who agreed to come fetch us, but Jerry hadn’t been drinking much at all so he agreed to take us home. We headed to bed soon after arriving home. I was coherent enough to put drops in my eyes and take a few Advil hoping to ward off any evil remnants come morning.