Showing me his Stone

All night long, I didn’t sleep nearly as well as I hoped. I woke around 535am wishing I had another hour or so to sleep. Of course that wasn’t the case, so I stumbled my way downstairs, started coffee, then my exercise regimen. I didn’t take Frankie outside until meditation and stretching were done. And even then, she seemed largely uninterested in getting up. I prepped Mindy’s coffee and delivered it bedside. It was already near 630am. I left Frankie in her pen as I headed out for my run. It was once again warm enough to run shirtless. Had to be about 65 degrees. The day’s high was expected to reach into the low 90’s with an abundance of sunshine. I ran four miles with no trouble at all. Mindy was busy preparing our breakfast by the time I made it back home. It was 714am when I glanced towards the clock. The kids were dragging tail, although Jacob was outside with Frankie. Mindy had my veggies ready and setting on the island. I threw together some fresh fruit in lieu of taking yogurt. I also planned to cut up some cheese and toss some walnuts in a container but forgot to. Dang it! We ate breakfast together but somewhat hurriedly. Mindy was out the door for work by 730am. Bella ended up doing her own hair. Not sure if Mindy forgot or what. No biggie. Bella did a decent job. I headed off to the shower by 735am. I was ready to go by 750am, which left plenty of time to fool around before bus time. I used the time to tidy up the kitchen. The kids and I headed out at 805am leaving ourselves 12 minutes before the buses scheduled arrival. Jacob handled Frankie’s leash. She wrestled with Woodie until the bus came. Kenny was out with the girls. I handed over a check in an envelope for Chrissy. I assumed it payment for our OSU/Miami tickets. The bus arrived on time. I took Frankie back home and made final preparations for departure. I decided to drive the Trooper, although I wasn’t sure if I’d have to stop for gas or not. I had about an 1/8th of a tank. I decided to forego a fuel stop on the way in knowing full well I’d almost certainly have to stop on my way home. That worked better time-wise. I arrived at work around 839am. The bus schedule change goes into effect on Tuesday. That should get me to work on time or close to it. Work went pretty well, especially for a Monday. Me, my boss, and my peer spent considerable time brainstorming a new workflow process in hopes of creating some needed efficiencies. We agreed to table our ideas until Tuesday. I stayed busy all day long. I spent the lion’s share of the day cooped up at my desk and in my office. I ate my veggies earlier than usual – 1215pm. For some reason, I was really hungry. Didn’t have a mid-morning snack like most days. That had to be it. I ended up working straight through. At some point I searched our benefits page to make sure the gastroenterologist I’m seeing Friday is considered in-network. I couldn’t confirm 100% because I left the paperwork at home, but it looked like the overall practice was in plan. The afternoon went quickly. I got out of the office just a couple minutes late. I planned to stop for gas on the way home. I called Mindy while driving through Hilliard. Mentioned we were having gourmet burgers for dinner. Also shared that my dad was coming over to join us. In fact, he arrived during our conversation. As planned, I stopped at Thornton’s for a fill-up - $2.54 per gallon. It took about 18. I washed my windows while waiting. Mike O. was over when I arrived home. Mindy said he was trying to locate his kids, Emily & Evan. Greeted Dad after greeting Mike. Dad was quick to share and show me the kidney stone he recently passed. Had it in a pill bottle. Holy smoke! It was about a 1/3” in diameter, or about the size of a pea. While talking, I clarified the vault he wanted at his death – a "Clark" vault. Thankfully, the rest of our conversation was much lighter. The burgers were delicious. However, Jacob wouldn’t eat his, and was grading on his mother’s last nerve. She threatened room time if he didn’t straighten up and eat. Yikes! Mindy’s been a little more on edge the past couple weeks. She asked me to deal with Jacob. Once he shared that there was bacon in his burger, I caved and let him have cereal in its place. He likes bacon, but not on burgers. I baggied up his burger for another day. The kids soon ran off to play while I cleaned up the kitchen and Mindy served up dessert – cheesecake. I made odd squeaky noises to entertain Frankie all the while eating dessert. Everybody laughed at the way she tipped her head almost completely sideways in response. Dad hung around until it was near 730pm. He offered to take me to my Friday appointment, but Mindy’s already scheduled the day off. We’re also taking Frankie in that morning to be spayed. Hopefully we don’t get our procedures crossed.  After Dad left, I spent some time at the computer and then dd some reading from the livingroom recliner. I fell asleep around 830pm and didn’t wake again until 945pm. By then, everyone else was already in bed. I had to pen up Frankie before heading upstairs.