School's Out for Summer

Bella - 48" (46.5" on 6/4/2010)

Jacob 63" (59.25" on 6/4/2010)

I was up right on time, once again waking naturally. After glancing out back and slipping into my exercise shoes I was fully engaged in calisthenics. Sit-ups first. After sit-ups, I checked the weather. It was a chilly 52 degrees under clear skies. That's more than 20 degrees cooler than it was just two days prior. We were expecting it to be more seasonal during the day with sunshine and a high of 79.

After a little more time on the PC I completed 55 push-ups then leashed up the pug and headed out for a walk. I wore my fleece jacket to counter the chilly morning air. It felt nice. We walked the usual route and were out for about ten minutes.

Before starting meditation I enjoyed a cup of coffee while reading the Daily OM. After meditation, which went well, I completed a stretch routine. Felt terrific. Near 625a I woke Mindy with coffee and the pug. Wasn’t sure if Mindy planned on heading into school at her regular time or not. She said she was.

Headed out for my run at 635a. I wore shorts and a long sleeved wicking shirt. That proved ideal for the chilly morning air. The sun was shining brightly and it warmed things quickly. The run went well. It was trash day. I passed the truck two or three times during my run. Speaking of trash day, our can was as full as it’s been in a year. Not sure exactly why, although I did empty both the deck and garage cans this week too.

I headed in through the deck door. I had to knock to get Mindy's attention since we keep that door locked all the time. My eggs were ready and in the microwave. Mindy was busy measuring the kids heights, something we do the first and last school day each year. Jacob’s grown and astounding 3.75 inches since last school year. Shooting up a like a bean pole. During the same period, Bella’s grown 1.5 inches. Jacob gave her grief about not growing. Again, always attacking her psyche.

Mindy left for her last day of school around 730a. The day’s plan included nothing more than cleaning up her classroom. I headed up for a shower a couple minutes later. I was back downstairs prepping my lunch by 745a. I packed tuna, cheese, fruit medley, and a banana. The kids and I headed out for the bus for the final time of school year 2010-2011 at 757a. I wasn’t sure if I’d see the kids again before they left for their summer vacation with Jimaken. Going to the Outer Banks. I thought I might try and leave work a little early so I could be home when they departed. Mindy guessed that to be around 5-530p.

Chrissy and I chatted briefly. Asked if we were doing Barley’s that night. Probably, but not sure. We headed to our respective homes a few seconds after the bus pulled away.

I walked Eiknarf out front one last time before taking off for work. Can’t recall if she went.

Inside, I packed up my work gear, including my iTouch, and headed into the office via the BM’er. It was a lovely day to be driving it. My boss and I planned to meet first thing to discuss how we’d announce my looming departure.

My boss and I agreed that I would share the news of my new position with my direct reports one on one before he sends out a more global announcement. I spent the rest of the morning sharing that information.

At lunch time I headed to Home Depot and Lowe’s. I bought Turf Builder at Home Depot and then a large bag of wild birdseed and algaecide at Lowes.  I was gone for about 50 minutes. The afternoon breezed by. I talked with Mindy around 4p. One of her teacher pals was over. Said the kids would be leaving around 530p. I shared my plans to leave work early enough to see them beforehand. To that end, I left the office at roughly 5p.

It was a lovely evening – about 78 and sunny. Arrived home around 515p. Jimaken wasn’t yet there. Bella was off playing with friends. Talked with Jacob and Mindy. Bella came home around 530p, which turned out being the same time that Jimaken showed up. He was taking Jacob to his soccer tryouts first, then leaving for the Outer Banks immediately afterwards. Said they’d be driving straight through.

Jimaken asked if he could change in our bathroom then asked Mindy if she would hang up his clothes somewhere. She poked fun his way about stowing her ex-husbands clothes. We all got a laugh.  They left the house around 545p. I gave both kids a hug. Both were in high spirits. Wasn’t sure how Bella would do. As the kids and Jimaken pulled away, Mindy let out a big ol’ yahoo!

We had about an hour or so before we planned on leaving for Barley’s. I headed out to look over our flowers. Neighbor Jake approached from the tree swing apologizing for breaking it. I walked out to see what he was talking about. Rope broke just 4 or 5 feet below the tree branch. Yikes! Glad it wasn't with one of the wee ones swinging super high on the other end.  Jake was out there with a few of his school peeps. One of them was the small kid that I overheard threatening to shoot out our windows a month or so ago. I called him out for it. He denied it at first. Said it wasn’t him. Yeah, it was you.

I headed back inside. Told Mindy about the tree swing rope breaking, and then the brief encounter with Jakes friend. Mindy sent a global text to several of our peeps letting them know we’d be at Barley’s. I did some heavy snacking, including eating what was left of Wednesday’s Chipotle burrito, some cheese, and then some cashews. Afterwards, my stomach was a tad too full – especially odd for a Friday evening. Mindy walked down to chat with Chrissy. I headed to the deck to do some reading/napping from the chaise.

Left for Barley’s near 7p. The main lot was full. We parked in the adjacent lot (the first car to do so). Mindy chatted with a few folks sitting on the patio while headed on inside. Mindy’s friend, Phyllis was sitting at the bar talking with Ben & Ryan. I talked with the twins, Kurt & Kevin, but they were already preparing to leave. 

Seeing that Centennial was back on the tower (Yeah!) I ordered one of those. Arriving over the next hour were Doug & Jamie, brother Tommy, Darwin, & Tom Clark. Unless I’m mistaken, haven’t seen Tommy since we dropped him home after our ski trip. Doug & Jamie spent the day at Muirfield. Doug said he was wearing a Steve Stricker golf shirt

that looked to be from an era gone by. Said they witnessed his hole-in-one. Unless I’m mistaken, that helped catapult him into the day two lead.

Mindy asked that I drive us home. To that end, I was careful about my drinking. For starters, no double IPA’s. I planned to have only two or three scattered across the evening. That ended up being almost 4 hours. Mindy had quite the buzz going celebrating another school year in the bag. Before I knew it, she had invited most of our peeps back to our place, and it sounded like there would be many takers.

As we left, Mindy said she was gonna ride with Tom Clark. I didn’t mind. I drove home in the Honda alone. I arrived home first and immediately headed out with Eiknarf. Tom & Mindy pulled up while I was out with her. Mindy must’ve texted/called Kenny too. He and Josh walked down. A few minutes later, neighbor Teri came down. Add Ben, Ryan, & Darwin, soon we had a house full.

Mindy began dancing on the island counter almost immediately. Ryan eventually joined her. She kept pulling on the hanging light cords.  I was worried that it would be coming down anytime. We had the music blaring from the various iTouches/iPhones through my Bose sound dock.

We partied pretty late. Folks started leaving around 1a. Mindy headed up to bed around 110a. I stayed up long enough to see everyone off and then cleaned up the kitchen so it wouldn’t be messy come the morning. Good night school year!