Oregon Trails

I’m trained to wake at 530a. So, just as I expect myself to do, I woke just a few minutes ahead of 530a to start my Monday. I felt well rested after an incredibly nappy Sunday. I purposefully left Frankie out of her pen the night before and was shown gratitude by her leaving a pile of crap on the living room carpet. Can you say sleep in your pen every night? I stared out back into dark cloud cover while I slipped into my exercise shoes. I then headed for the living room where I quickly completed 55 sit-ups. After sit-ups I spent about 5 minutes online before push-ups and coffee. Meanwhile, my mind was still absorbed with the Infestation programs I watched the night before on Discovery Channel. Yikes! I checked the temperature a bit earlier. It was only 13 degrees. I bundled warmly before taking Frankie out back. I was surprised that she pooped again after the carpet cookie incident. Inside, I reluctantly gave her a Milkbone. She loves them. She hadn’t had one for a couple weeks thinking we were all out. I took a few minutes to relax and enjoy my coffee before moving on to meditation. It must’ve been near 605a when I finished the coffee and started meditation, which went really well. I am more determined than ever to get where I need to be. At 620a I moved on to my stretching routine. All in all, my body’s feeling pretty good these days, although my right hamstring is still the tightest spot in my body. I am determined to get that thing right too. At 625a I poured Mindy’s coffee. And like she often does, Frankie took that as her queue to go see Mindy. We headed up stairs where Mindy was already mid-shower. I put her coffee down, gave her kiss, then headed downstairs to ready for a run. I bundled warmly in freshly laundered running clothes. I smelt like a dryer sheet heading out the door. I ran the full 4.1 miles without incident. The first two miles seemed to drag, but the last two much faster. Mindy was making breakfast when I returned. As usual, I started her Honda then headed in and stripped out of my damp outer layers before sitting for breakfast. Jacob was at the table gobbling up some cereal. He went to bed the night before still hungry. He sounded grossly congested. He’s never been very good at evacuating his sinuses. Mindy left for school near 730a. She reminded the kids to bus home with Noah. Said she’d be there near 430p to get them. Bella seemed disappointed that she’d only have 30 minutes with Dena. It wasn’t long before I was off to the shower. I had to shave, floss and brush. The shaving thing isn’t an everyday thing for me. I was back downstairs working on my lunch by 753a. The kids weren’t far behind, and without any prompting. I like that. We headed out a tad later than usual. In fact, the bus was already wheeling down the road as I started the Trooper. Jacob and Bella both objected to my singing all the way to the bus stop. I disregarded their objection. I chatted only briefly with Chrissy, who quickly headed back home. I walked Frankie out front for a few minutes. She pooped again. Inside, I finished packing my lunch, prepped a to-go cup of coffee, then packed up my laptop for work. I left the house at 820a. I listened to ESPN radio during my drive in. Almost forgot that this was national championship Monday. I’d almost certainly watch, but the college football season was already over in my mind. I arrived to work and was in my office by 837a. It took me a while to get situated and logged in. I decided to wash my water pitcher, glass, and fork thoroughly before the day’s use. It was just before 9a once I was settled in and busy. I started feeling a bit feverish mid morning, and the feeling stuck with me for most of the day. I was still evacuating my sinuses too, but felt as though I was starting to hit bottom. Finally! I didn’t take a formal getaway lunch, although did take time to eat while working. It was a busy day. But then again, I say that almost every day, I know. Creating lots of office buzz was the substantial snow storm forecasted to hit overnight and through the entire day Tuesday. The alarmist mentality kills me! I stayed busy all day long. What really made the day go fast was spending the last couple hours in the center with my team. I enjoyed that very much. It was 530p in a hurry. I packed and left for home a few minutes later. I didn’t talk to Mindy all day long. I waited until I got home. I arrived around 550p. Mindy was busy making dinner, pesto chicken. Bella quickly shared that Jacob was ill. Glancing into the family room I could see him sprawled out on the sofa. Mindy said he was sporting a fever of 100.3. Likely staying home on Tuesday. Wanted to know if I could stay home with him. Could, but would need to return to work to get my laptop. I offered that she seek a second option. I shared that I felt feverish all day long too. I didn’t feel sick though. Mindy gave me the thermometer to check my temp. There was no way I was sticking that thing in my mouth. I stuck in my arm pit instead. My temp read 97.9. After adding a degree I was normal. Hmm? I played on the PC checking out lodging rates at the Seven Springs for this coming weekend. Thought about surprising the family and taking them there Sat-Mon. Found a good deal on a no frills room for 4 ($700 for 2 nights lodging and 3-day lift tickets). I quietly bounced it off Mindy while she continued cooking dinner. She cooked the pesto chicken in a covered frying pan. I insisted on broiling mine afterwards to give it a crunchier exterior. Don’t care for gooey chicken. I was surprised when Mindy let the cat out of the bag and asked the kids if they wanted to do Seven Springs this coming weekend. But I was even more surprised when both said no, and Bella emphatically. Hmmm? Jacob’s biggest concern was the length of the drive, and then if he'd be better by then. Bella admitted later that she wants to ski with her friends. Makayla told her that they plan on skiing MRM everyday this coming weekend. Fine, we’ll scrap the long family weekend at Seven Springs. Perhaps Mindy & I will go alone on a kidless weekend. It’s just a 3.5 hour drive, so it’s feasible that we could leave late afternoon on a Friday and return on Sunday. Dinner was good. Jacob, of course, didn’t eat. Instead, he remained under blankets on the sofa. He looked bad. After dinner and during clean-up, Mindy phoned brother Craig for advice. He recommended not having kids.  No, just kidding. I guess he’s seen several similar cases this week. Most likely not flu or strep. Lasting 7-10 days. Tylenol/Advil. Mindy walked Bella down to Chrissy’s so she could play with Makayla. She took Chrissy some of her pesto chicken. Kenny, her cook, is still out of town in Florida. While Mindy was down there, I snuggled up in the family chair with my book and did some reading and napping. I fell asleep but not sure for how long. I woke around 8p. Jacob, meanwhile, was still lounging on the sofa. I really wanted to tune the TV to the National Championship game but because Jacob was grounded from TV until Friday, I abstained until conferring with Mindy. She eventually asked him to go upstairs to his room and get in his jammies. That served as my queue to tune into the game. As expected, the pregame hype was crazy. Kick-off wasn’t for some time. I’m thinking close to 845p. Oregon’s uniforms were much to my liking, but not for everyone. I’ve heard others complain about them. Mindy watched most of the first half with me. Jacob was still awake but in his room organizing his football card collection. I consider that a productive use of his down time. He came to the railing to ask numerous questions about the ’91 NFL season’s best teams. I helped him the best I could from memory. The Vikings were the very best team, of course!  Relative to the championship game, both teams looked offensively challenged, especially early on. Oregon was fast and inventive but weren’t producing many points. It was something like 11- 7 at the half. I dosed through halftime, and Mindy went to bed. Auburn looked like the stronger team in the 3rd quarter, but couldn’t put the nail in the coffin either. It was 19-11 Auburn when I went to bed. I really needed some solid sleep.