He's a Family Guy

I started playing peek-a-boo with the bedroom clock just after 430a until I finally crawled out of bed at 535a. I didn’t feel fully rested, but wasn’t exactly sleepy either. Anytime I wake smack-dab in the middle of a dream, no matter how much sleep I’ve had, I feel like that. I brushed my teeth then looked for my running clothes, but suddenly remembered that they were freshly laundered and folded in the laundry room downstairs. I glanced out back while slipping into my exercise tennies. It looked wet, obviously above freezing. That was later confirmed shortly after sit-ups. It was 36 degrees. It started to rain/drizzle, too. After push-ups Frankie remained sound asleep in her pen with the door wide open. Instead of bothering her, I made coffee and did a little more PC time. Frankie still asleep, I went ahead and completed meditation and stretching. At that point I planned on leaving Frankie sleep while I ran, totally skipping our morning walk figuring Mindy or I would catch her on the rebound. Just then, while I started pouring Mindy’s coffee, she decided she was getting up. Great! I had to alter my plan and take her out. As fate would have it, she was pokier than ever. She eventually pooped, but no pee. Back inside, I rushed her and coffee up to Mindy. I let Mindy know that she’d almost certainly need out again as soon as they were downstairs. I went back downstairs and readied for my run. Despite warmer temps, I dressed in my usual winter attire. Glad I did too. I had to contend with precip for the duration, a mix of rain, sleet, and snow. Was migrating towards all snow as the run went on. I ran the full 4.1 miles. No slips, trips or falls. I was surely running behind schedule. And because of that, Mindy started the Honda herself. I was careful heading back up the driveway. It looked just wet, but there were a couple tricky little slick spots lurking. Mindy made cheesy scrambled eggs. Commented that both kids were grumpy and tired. Bella even complained of not feeling well. Mindy checked her temperature just before heading off to school. Normal. She finally ate donuts but still contended that she wasn’t feeling right. Reminded Bella to bus home to Noah’s. Jacob and Noah, however, would be staying late serving as school ambassadors and wouldn’t be on the bus with her. Instead, Tony, Dena’s husband, would pick them up and bring them home. I headed off to the shower while the kids did their normal routine. I hurried through packing a lunch ahead of the bus stop. It didn’t take me long – 5 minutes tops. We headed out the door at 758a. I could’ve used an umbrella. It was snowing, but it was the wet variety. Kenny & I didn’t talk long. He looked tired. Said he was heading back to bed. Bet he stayed up late. Frankie and I walked the walk out front. She did a lot of sniffing but no doing. Good grief. All that extra time netted me nothing more than a wet dog & do. I threw my pack together, including my laptop, then left for work at 815a. I got a spot up front arriving somewhere close to 835a. It didn’t take long for the Monday morning ‘pile on’ to begin. Work can be like that. I expect it. Can still feel overwhelming at times, however. I was busy all morning long. Sometime just before 1p I got a call from what looked like Mindy’s school. It was Mindy calling from the school phone. Bella was sick and sporting a fever. Her school was insisting that one of us come pick her up. I agreed to do the deed. And because she was sporting a fever, the rules say she’ll need to stay home the following day too. Mindy said she’d make arrangements to stay home Tuesday if I picked her up then. I pinged my boss but he didn’t respond. I sent him a note letting him know my predicament and left. He phoned my Blackberry just as I was entering the school office. Gave me the thumbs up to work from home the rest of the afternoon. Bella was sitting waiting. May have looked a little piqued, but not as bad as I expected. The receptionist reminded me that she’d have to stay home on Tuesday, too. I told her that we already had that covered. Bella was glad to be heading home. Described feeling nauseous, though not using that word. She’s rarely ill. We arrived home before 130p. Bella went immediately for the sofa and asked me to cover her up. She got up long enough to get the TV turned on. I went and logged into work via my laptop. I’ve expressed this before, but I simply don’t like to work from home. Sure, there are some upsides, like staying in your jammies and tinkering with home chores at the same time, but I can’t get past this feeling of hopeless despair. For me, I am mixing polar opposites; work, a place I don’t really think positively of, and home, my place of refuge and escape. After an hour or so I made a sandwich. I was really hungry. I checked on Bella again too. She was asleep but woke when I entered. Asked for a cup of water. Also wanted to know when her momma would be home. I wasn’t sure if she had a staff meeting or not. I later learned that she did. I worked through the afternoon without interruption. Soon that hopelessly depressing feeling I associate with working at home came over me. Blah! Mindy phoned around 4p to check on Bella and to let me know that Tony would be dropping Jacob at home sometime around 430p. Mindy had to spend extra time in her classroom preparing an agenda for Tuesday’s substitute. Just like most other work days, during the last hour things were coming in fast a furious. I wasn’t amused, though did my best to handle what was already on my plate. Tony dropped Jacob at 430p. Mindy arrived home maybe 5 minutes later. I stayed busy at my home desk but listened to the organized family chaos I typically miss each afternoon. Mindy was busy reviewing the kids school papers and homework, starting dinner, managing snacks, and dealing with Frankie. Jacob wasn’t pleased that Mindy denied his request to play outside with Evan. Though it was snowing, it was wet and sloppy, the temperature still hovering right around freezing. Relative to work, I went dark right at 530p. I wasn’t feeling that great, really tired. Mindy had dinner all ready to go by 545p. She made pork tacos using the leftovers from last week’s pork roast. Jacob had pork nachos, Mindy a pork taco salad, and me two basic pork tacos. Bella opted for Wheaties, dry. I managed dinner clean-up as fast as I could. And then as soon as I was done I went to the living room where I took to the recliner for a nap. It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep. And there I slept in the recliner until 830p. Crazy, I know. That’s almost two hours. After waking, I ventured into the kitchen to get some water then let Mindy know that I was heading to bed. I think she was surprised. Told me she just asked Jacob to head up for a shower. The relevance didn’t dawn on me immediately, but hit me as I scampered towards the stairs. Jacob and Bella shower in our bathroom. I offered that he should shower in their own bathroom. I quickly leaped into bed and drifted off to sleep. Felt terrific. Not sure why I was so tired. I vaguely remember Mindy coming to bed but have no idea what time it was. I woke around 1030p feeling well rested. That was after almost 4 hours of dreamy shut eye between the recliner and bed. I decided to get up and head downstairs until I was tired again. I played around online, both for pleasure and work, but for no more than 20 minutes. At 11p I went to the family room where I tuned the TV to a couple back-to-back episodes of Family Guy. I watched them in full. Now near midnight I headed back upstairs to bed. By then I was plenty tired again. Good night Stewie!