Late Rainy Start

I had a hard time falling asleep the night before worrying about work stuff. I got up around 1130pm and played around on the PC for about an hour in an attempt to create a mind diversion and at the same time bring on the sleepies. It worked fairly well. I over slept by 15 or 20 minutes. Not a big deal, though. Knew I could make it up with a few tweaks here and there. I did my best to peer outdoors but all I could see was the dew covering the windows, a clear indication that it was mighty steamy outside. On closer inspection, it was cloudy. I could hear a few rumbles of thunder. I completed calisthenics then checked the weather forecast and radar.

There was another bout of strong storms moving in again from the north/northwest. A pattern we've seen repeated several times this summer. It's far more common to see weather moving in from the southwest. Regardless of where it was coming from, it wasn't suppressing the heat. Still expecting a high near 93. Looking ahead to Thursday, they're calling for a high of 99!

I was at a cross road. It was 605am, the time I usually break away from the PC to meditate and stretch just ahead of a run. The storm was no over us, and there was plenty of thunder, lightning and rain. I double checked the radar. It was moving fast. I figured it would be gone by 7am.

While the storm rumbled through, I decided to steal a few extra winks from the sofa. It felt terrific. It stopped around 625am, or shortly before I got backup. It started up again midway through meditation and stretching. But judging by the radar, it would end anytime.

My calculations were spot on. By 7am the sky brightened and the rain stopped and thunder stopped. I headed out for a run at 705am. The sky still looked evil to the south but friendly to the north, the same direction our weather was moving in from.  I decided early on to limit my run to just three miles in an effort to regain some of the time I lost due to the storm. I was covered in a thick lather of sweat by the abbreviated run's conclusion.  Felt good though.

I was inside by 735am, about the same time that I'm usually off to the shower. I moved a bit faster than usual cooking my eggs and prepping my lunch. Once again, Mindy had a salad all ready for the go. That helped a lot. I finished my breakfast and was off to the shower by 755am.

I wore green Dockers and sky blue Polo golf shirt. I haven't been so colorful with my work attire for several years. Oh, I almost forgot,  I delivered Mindy's morning coffee before hitting the shower. I told her I had little time for pleasure after finding myself ready. She remained in bed when I left. I wasn't sure what the day held in store for her and the kids. Their original plan was to go out to Doug and Tara's and do some boating, but Mindy learned they had other guests coming out that day.

I left for work around 820am. And by the time I arrived at work the sun was already shining through the ever thinning cloud cover. Like I have for the past week or so, I completed a to-do list. And just like the day before, a couple urgent matters popped up right away that seemed to threaten my to-do list. I am not happy when that happens. I don't like the feeling of losing control. Horrid, I tell you!

I managed to knock the urgent/emergency issues out of the way by 11am and moved swiftly to my to-do list. It was a strange day. I had short bursts of time where I was amazingly productive relative to my to-do list completing far more than I could even imagine. But then there were a few more slowdowns that caused me to squirm a little. Each time I found a way to press through and attack the tasks causing me the most pain/stress.

My boss topped by for the first time in about two days. I shared how bogged down I felt with all the conflicting tasks that are common in my new position. But I also pointed out that I knew I had to go through a learning curve and that I expected to be somewhat overwhelmed. Otherwise, my job would be boring.

Like the day before, I worked straight through the day not stopping to do much more than pee and eat. In fact,  I ate while working. My goal all day long was to get on top of my mounting list of to-dos. I definitely didn't want to go home feeling like I did the day before. I managed through the day but once again ended up working later than normal. I was at the office until 6pm or just after. In the end, I felt really good about all I had accomplished.

I knew the grass needed cut, but wasn't looking forward to doing the deed at all. It was about 93 degrees with few if any clouds over head. At home, Mindy was busy on her laptop. She and the kids spent the afternoon at the pool. It was there that she learned her aunt Teet (her dad's sister) passed away.  Funeral would be held Friday at 1030am graveside. Wanted me to join her. I'd have to ask my boss.

I got the impression we'd be on our won for dinner, but a few minutes late she headed out to the deck and to the grill. I eventually followed and saw that she was grilling fish, Chilean sea bass.  She bought it at Whole Foods earlier that afternoon. Said she got my another 6-pack of Southern Tier XXIPA too. Cool!

Dinner was tasty and light, fish, salad, and a few of the leftover redskin potato wedges. After clean-up I declared it still too hot to cut the grass. It was still 91 degrees at 715pm. Lindsey & Kelly dropped off the boys around 715pm. They'd be spending the night so Lindsey and Kelly could go to court.

The boys ate a little and then headed over to the O'Connell's to play. I went to the recliner with my book, did some reading, then took a nap. Felt terrific. I got up around 8pm and headed out to cut the lawn. I couldn't wait any longer or I'd be battling darkness.

It was still hot. Less than five minutes into the task I decided to remove the t-shirt I was wearing. Way too warm for that.  I moved through the chore swiftly but carefully. I cut the front lawn long so not to leave clippings. And because I used the tractor for the back, it was much shorter out there. I was dripping head to toe with sweat. Mindy brought me a glass of ice water just as I was finishing up the pus mowing out back. It was near dark when I finished mowing. There was no time for whacking, edging or blowing.

I headed inside and quickly for the shower. And boy did that feel good! Mindy asked for my help getting the kids ready for bed. She already had Rocky and Landon bathed. It was already pushing 10pm. The evening went incredibly fast. After a quick snack, the kids were tucked into bed, but not before calling their mom to tell her good night. It was quite telling when Landon asked to talk with grandma Kelly right away.

Mindy and I sat up in the downstairs queen Anne chairs for about 20 minutes talking before we begged off to bed.  I really needed a good night of sleep.