Day of the Dead

I remember waking after hearing a crashing noise downstairs around 130a. I listened for a few minutes, but with no other noises. I went back to sleep. I then woke numerous times between 4 & 530a, the last around 510a, and remember thinking that I could slip in another 20 minutes. Twenty minutes turned into 28. In kind, I was about 8 minutes behind schedule. That might not seem like a lot, but when you have jam packed routine every minute matters. I completed my exercises and internet by 555a essentially recapturing most of the lost minutes simply by cutting internet time down to the bare necessities. It was 32 degrees on the nose and once again under clear skies. While glancing out the back door I realized what the crashing sound was. It was a metal/glass window ornament that was hanging from a suction cup hook on the inside bay window. It was now resting on the floor. It always feels good to find the culprit. Outside, Frankie was fairly quick to take care of business – a good thing, too, because I hadn’t more than a minute or two to waste. Once again, I left myself less time for meditation than ideal, but worked with the hand I’d been dealt. I completed my stretching routine at 631a. I hustled through making and delivering Mindy’s coffee. I left it on her dresser in a hurry. Oh, I left Frankie up there too. I dressed in the same attire as the day before only this time I found my old, thinner running gloves setting next to the fabric softener rack just below my other running accessories in the laundry room. I wore ear covers for the first time this season, too. I was out the door by 640a. It was nippy but I was nicely outfitted and quite comfortable. My hands were much more comfortable in my old running gloves. Good call. They’re old and tattered but still effective. The crystal clear skies hinted of daybreak as my 4.1 mile came to an end, but for all intents and purposes it was still dark. Without a word, I headed in the door and grabbed Mindy’s Honda keys then headed back out to start/warm it. Waiting at the table was a big pile of cheesy scrambled eggs. Yum-yum. This being election day, I tried my best to sway Mindy’s votes towards my favorite candidates, but the Ohio Education Association had apparently already done a good job brainwashing her and her peers to believe in the evil choice. At least in the Governor’s race, it sounded as if our votes would cancel one another out. It was looking like we’d both be waiting until after work to vote. Mindy left at her usual 730a. I was off to the shower a couple minute later. The kids and I reconvened in the kitchen around 755a. By then, I had packed myself a light lunch similar to Monday’s, a skinless chicken tender, cheese, a fruit medley, and a banana. We headed out to the bus stop with me stopping to start the Trooper along the way. I had a second cup of coffee in one of my special Vikings cups. Chrissy came out with the girls, but before I could say anything, she asked if she could leave them with me while she ran Jake to school. He apparently overslept. I agreed, but perhaps a better plan for everyone would have been for me to give him a ride and Chrissy stay back with our kids at the bus stop. Jake’s school is just down the road from my office, which would have saved Chrissy the hassle of driving about 15 miles out of her way. The bus arrived on time and swept up the kids. I walked Frankie briefly out back. She pee’d. We headed back inside where I packed all of my work gear then headed off. The Trooper was fully defrosted and nice and toasty for my drive in. The ABS light was off again. Hmmm? Out of habit, I parked in the back lot. I was in my office by 832a. The day wasn’t as busy as I expected it might be, but still busy enough. I didn’t take a formal lunch break. Had no reason to. I ate my lunch while working at my desk. I left work at 530p. I phoned Mindy on my drive home. She reminded me that she’d be leaving to take Bella to gymnastics, and also wanted to know if I still planned to vote on my way home. Yes. Said Jacob would be there by himself for a few minutes. I asked how crowded our polling station was. Not at all, at least when she was there a half hour prior. Cool. I arrived at our polling station at 545p. I was able to walk right up and vote. I passed on most of the judge races – not knowing anything about any of the candidates. I voted for Governor, a U.S. Congressional seat, State Attorney General, and Auditor. I noticed a guy I used to work with on the ballot running for congress as the U.S. Constitution party candidate. Hmmm? I was home a couple minutes later. Jacob was chillin’ on the sofa with his iTouch in his ear. Seemed content while I went through my usual after work paces. Mindy arrived home from dropping off Bella a few minutes later. We already agreed that leftovers would be the night’s dinner. She asked if I wanted her to warm me something. No, not necessary. I ate a couple small pieces of our leftover pizza and then several pita chips with chipotle hummus. Can’t get enough of that stuff. Jacob had a taco. Not sure what Mindy had. Mindy cited being exhausted. Asked if I would mind fetching Bella. Now, generally speaking, I hate to drive anywhere, but agreed to give her the break she craved. After all, I knew she’d do it for me. I left to get her at 650p and took the Honda. It was already completely dark. I had a rough idea where the new dance center was, but hadn’t been there before. I kind, I had a difficult time finding the correct turn off in the dark, but eventually managed. Meghan, a familiar instructor, was just inside the door working with a group of slightly older girls on their ballet moves. Meghan’s quite cute, but I was a little surprised at the girth she’s added since I last saw her (2 years?). I could see Bella interacting in the back office, with who I assumed was Grandma Sharon, although I couldn’t tell for sure. I motioned and hollered for Bella a few times but my calls went unheeded. Finally, Meghan pranced in to alert her to my presence. Both Bella and Grandma Sharon came out. Grandma Sharon has always been more than kind to both Bella and Jacob. Watched them since they were babies. She’s nice to Mindy & I too. Mindy’s known her since childhood. As we headed out to the Honda, Bella asked if I would stop at Wendy’s for her dinner. I agreed. We stopped at the Roberts Rd Wendy’s where we ordered a chicken tenders kids meal with fries and Dr Pepper. Home by 720p, Bella sat down to eat while I headed off to update my blog and play on the computer. Jacob demonstrated that he could make a phone call from his iTouch by calling Mindy’s cell. However, he didn’t realize that he could actually talk on the call if he had his headphones/microphone attached. He’s misplaced the original head set and is now using generic headphones without a mike. After advising him of that, he scrambled around searching for the originals but to no avail. Near 8p, I tuned the TV to WBNS-10TV to get a glimpse of the early election returns, but the results didn’t begin rolling in until around 830p. With less than 1% reporting I was already feeling pretty good about the results. But before there were any meaningful results to mull over, I dosed off from the sofa. I know, shocking! I didn’t wake again until 930p, and by then everyone, including Mindy, was in bed. Hmm? I went back to sleep until just after 10p when I finally mustered the energy to head up to bed.