Catch My Cold If You Can

It was Friday and another cold & snowy winter day. My morning started just ahead of 530a with the typical daily exercise regimen, internet, Frankie time, and coffee. After coffee, I enjoyed 15 minutes of meditation then 5 minutes of stretching. Ahead of my run, I took Mindy some coffee and the pug. I bundled warmly for my run heading out at 630a on the nose. We got about an inch of fresh snow that made running a bit more pleasurable than it already is. I ran the full 4.1 miles without incident. I was glad that I shoveled the snow the night before saving me the trouble Friday morning. Mindy had eggs ready and waiting inside after I started the Honda. Just a dusting of fresh snow covered the Honda. During breakfast I quizzed Bella on her spelling words, only to learn that she tested for them on Thursday. Said she believes she got all eight of them correct. Mindy made mention of going to see niece Katie’s play Friday evening. Said she wanted to go opening night for a couple of reasons. I suggested the Sunday show instead. We’d discuss our plans later. Mindy left for school at 730a. After cleaning up breakfast, I headed up for a shower. I was ready to go just ahead of 755a. I was able to get about half my lunch ready before heading off to the bus stop. Chirssy talked about skiing over the weekend. I shared that I wanted to as well. I walked Frankie briefly out front. A lot of sniffing but nothing else. The Trooper nearly thawed, I headed back inside to make a few last minute preparations. I left the house near 815a. I enjoyed a to-go cup of coffee on my drive in. I commended the facilities guy tossing salt on the front walk for a job well done managing the snow. I figure that few take the time to thank these guys for their work, and that by me doing so might just start a Liberty Mutual commercial. Nice begets nice! By and large it was a quiet day, at least the first half. My boss and I hooked up a couple of times through the day for impromptu meetings. In lieu of a lunch, I closed my office door and took about a 20 minute nap. For some reason, I was super tired. My cold, I guess. Still dealing with it nine days later. Ugh! I brought my iTouch to work and listened to music most of the afternoon. That always adds an element of calm to an otherwise tense day. I prepared to leave for home sometime after 5p, but like often happens, I got involved in a couple of sticky issues and couldn’t leave until almost 540p. And even then, I left knowing the issues would follow me home. I was the on-call through Sunday. The commute home was slower than normal, but then again faster than Thursday’s. Mindy was home and the kids gone for the weekend with their daddy. I had barely settled in when Mindy asked what’s been eating me. We “talked” for about 30 minutes, exchanging barbs mostly. Outside of airing grievances, I wouldn’t even begin to call our dialogue productive. To make matters worse, I was dealing with a work issue the entire time. Realizing that our conversation was going nowhere, I begged out a couple of times. Given my druthers, and being a creature of habit, I was really looking forward to an evening at Barleys. Mindy, however, was bent on seeing the opening night run of Katie’s play. I gave in to Mindy’s wishes, agreeing to see the play. The play would start at 8p. We left the house a little after 7p. It was snowing again, although not enough to inhibit driving. We stopped for gas on our way. Mindy paid and pumped. At $3.15 per gallon, she got only a half tank. We made good time on an otherwise quiet drive to Grove City. The venue, Little Theatre off Broadway, is apparently in its 52nd year of operation. Who knew? Thanks to niece Julie, we knew to park around back. Cash only was a bit of an inconvenience but between us both, we managed. Having never been to this theatre, I had no idea what to expect. It was much smaller than I envisioned. Perhaps a maximum seating capacity of 100-120. Julie was already there and saving seats for friends. We sat in the row behind her (row #3). Family wise, it turned out that only Joe & Jerry were coming to Friday night’s show. Mindy’s boss/principal Jim L. is on the theatre board and also a frequent actor in their plays. I hadn’t met him until that night. He spoke before the show began. Later, in the hall way, I quipped that he appeared nervous speaking in front of the small crowd. Said he may have appeared that way but it was more because he was ill, and has been for some time. Speaking of ill, my sinuses needed evacuated a couple of times. Not only that, but work was beckoning too. I had to stay involved via blackberry even though they specifically asked that they be turned off. Oops! The play, Catch Me if You Can, began shortly after 8p. Katie had the leading female role of the fake Mrs. Corbin. As close as we were to the stage, we could see every wrinkle, and every expression clearly. Interesting and very well done, especially for amateurs. I enjoyed the bizarre story. Katie played her 'conniving bitch' role to the hilt. What a hoot. I must admit, I did not see the ending coming. The show went almost 2 hours with a 10-15 minute intermission after about 1 hour. After the show, there was a champagne toast and food for the cast, crew, and audience. We stayed for that too. Mindy, of course, was way into that. She loves to hob knob. I was hopeful that we could make it out of there and to either CBC or Barleys for at least one beer. I checked CBCs hours from my Droid. No luck. Bar closes at 11p. Rats! It was already after 1030p by the time we left. It was snowing a bit harder and the roads (even I-270) a bit treacherous. Home was the smartest option. Besides being on-call, I still wasn’t feeling 100%. We arrived home around 1050p. I popped open a beer. Can’t recall if either of us took Frankie out. Think I did. I sipped my beer while Mindy begged off for bed. I ended up falling asleep on the sofa. Went for my PJs and pillow around midnight. Slept on the family room sofa all night.