Four Years of Marital Bliss

I woke at 540a after an OK night of sleep. Once again, shoulder pain woke me middle of the night. I kept readjusting my sleeping position in an effort to minimize the constant discomfort. All things considered, I was ready to jump back into my standard routine of sit-ups then push-ups. I completed both in the course of about ten minutes. These were the first push-ups I’d done since last Thursday morning, and only the second time since I injured my shoulder two Saturday’s ago at MRM. I decided it time to up my Advil dosage to four 200mg tablets before taking Frankie out back. Frankie didn’t waste any time taking care of business. Back inside, it was already 610a. My how the time flies. I completed a brief but effective meditation just ahead of stretching, which felt absolutely terrific. Everything cracked! At 630a I headed upstairs to deliver Mindy’s coffee. Frankie followed close behind eager to see her momma. It was in the upper 20’s, but nothing I am not used to. I bundled in my typical winter layers & headed out the door at 640a. I ran the usual 4.1 miles with no problems. I wished I were still running in the mountains instead of at home, but hey … . Mindy had her Honda started and warming in the drive. She also had my eggs ready and waiting. Mindy had already opened the anniversary card I left on the island. We exchanged anniversary pleasantries. She soon hurried off to work while I scurried off to the shower. The kids and I headed out for the bus at 757a. There we met Chrissy and girls. She asked about our trip. Truthfully, at least in my mind, I was still in vacation mode. Once the kids were on the bus I walked Frankie out front for a while. She never did go. I started the Trooper for the first time since last Wednesday evening. It started fine. Most notable was that the check engine light wasn’t lit. Hmmm? I was low on gas but figured I could make it to work fine. I decided to skip Thornton’s on the drive in but planned to stop on the way home. Gas prices were up, $3.29 per gallon. Yikes! I arrived at work around 835a. It took a while to get my PC fired up. Holy cow. I had 4000 emails waiting for me. That was enough to make me wanna take another vacation.  After a few minutes online, my boss and peer pinged me, asked me to join them for a meeting. I kidded them about working remote from Oregon, but quickly headed their way to join their meeting already in progress. Discussing reorg stuff. It’s almost a cliché, I know, but the day went really fast. I enjoyed my packed lunch from my desk around 1p. I was unusually hungry. The day was over before I knew it. Through the day I managed to whittle my email inbox down to about 500. I left for home at 530p. I stopped at Thornton’s for a fill-up. I was happy that my check engine light was still off and it remained that way even after filling up. Not holding my breath, however. As I pulled down our street I noticed the kids (neighbors included) sledding on the front hill. I quickly nixed that worried most about their well being. The were rolling off their sleds in the easement and just before the street. Double yikes! Jacob quickly shared that Mindy gave them permission. Told them that I didn’t care. No more sledding out front. He wasn’t pleased, but I didn’t really care. Immediately in the door, I told Mindy that I nixed the sledding. Said she didn’t even consider the danger. Really? She was busy making dinner and it smelt really good – inferno chicken. I wasn’t in the best of spirits this being my first day back to work. I felt a little overwhelmed. Dinner was good. The inferno chicken was a hit with everyone, even Bella. I hurried through dinner clean-up so I could spend some time investigating the broken garage door opener. Bella asked if she could go down to the neighbors to play. Mindy said she could go after her homework and reading was done. I headed out to the garage. Once up the ladder I could see what was wrong right away. The plastic teeth on the main gear were ground completely off and lying in the shroud covering the opener in a powdery consistency. Holy smoke! My guess is that the door was frozen and stuck while someone kept pushing the open button. I spent about an hour out there trying to figure out how to remove the plastic or nylon gear. Wasn’t readily apparent. If I could get it off, figured I might be able to order another online and make the simple repair versus buying an entirely new opener. I eventually came to the conclusion that I would need to remove the unit from the bracket first. To do so, however, would require some finagling, including finding a way to keep the chain and guide suspended. I definitely didn’t want it to drop on my BM’er. I decided to bag the repair until the weekend when I'd have more time and hopefully find myself in a better frame of mind. In the meantime, I planned to price a new openers just in case. I also showed Mindy what the problem was. When Mindy greeted Bella at the door on her return from Chrissy’s she asked if I moved her Honda. No, why? It had slid about 8’ further down the drive on the ice. Yikes again! She and Jacob headed out to shovel/remove some ice. I didn’t have the energy or mind to help. My give a damn was busted! It was only 830p. Somewhere in there I took 4 more Advil. Mindy and the kids had American Idol whirling loudly in the family room. Wanting no part of that, I decided to head up to bed. I turned on the TV, but in no time at all, fell asleep. I was out for the night.