Goodbye to the Month of ME

I was up on time on what was yet another crappy morning weather-wise. What’s more, the weekend forecast wasn’t any better, in fact even worse, at least on Saturday. For the time being it was raining and 54 degrees. Saturday wasn't expected to escape the 40s with clouds, wind and rain. Not an ideal beginning to October, but I suppose in synch with what we’ve been experiencing here in late September.

I enjoyed coffee and internet ahead of meditation, stretching and running. Somewhere in between, I woke Mindy. I’m guessing it was near 615am. Weighing on my mind was the fact that I needed to give Lindsey a ride to work as well as deliver b-day snacks to Bella’s classroom, all this before getting myself to work. I expected Lindsey to find a way to our house ahead of the ride to work so I could at least carry out my normal morning duties without harm.

As usual, I headed out for my run around 630am. I completed the 4.1 miles in damp & dreary conditions. I suppose the nicest thing I can say about the weather was that the wind wasn’t blowing. Back at home I toweled off in the laundry room where I was met with a strong urine-type stench which I tracked to Jacob’s soccer cleats. I told him about it as I sat down at the table for breakfast. Of course he responded with a smart alecky retort.

His timing couldn’t have been worse. I just wasn’t in the mood. For the next couple minutes our morning was filled with dysfunction. I’ll say two things. One, there’s no doubt that I could have handled the whole smelly shoe problem much better. Two, had I responded to my father as he did me, I would’ve been knocked into tomorrow.

The tension eased as Jacob headed up to his room and Mindy headed off to work. Before heading up for a shower I loaded three trays of cupcakes into a Macy’s bag for easier transporting.

I was done with my shower and downstairs by 750a. Lindsey was soon at our door while I was putting the finishing touches on my packed lunch. Because Eiknarf hadn’t yet been walked Lindsey volunteered to do it to save all of us a little time. Bella headed out for the bus stop first (rare). I stopped Jacob just before heading out the door and told him that neither of us handled the shoe thing as well as we should’ve but that there would definitely be some level of discipline coming his way for his not so wise response. Told him Mindy & I would discuss later.

According to Lindsey, Eiknarf took care of her business on their walk. Left her inside as we headed to the bus stop. Lindsey came along too. We met Kenny and the girl there. I joked that Lindsey was going back to elementary school to try over again. After the kids boarded the bus I shared the Jacob shoe encounter with Kenny. A minute or two later,  Lindsey & I headed off to work.

We made really good time around I-270 to

Sawmill Rd

and then east on Snouffer to Cane. Her office is in the Farmer’s building. It was something close to 840am – early for her, but late for me. I still needed to drop Bella’s b-day cupcakes at her school. I made good time getting there too. Arrived around 850am. Jacob & Bella’s bus was one of the early ones. In fact, Jacob was out front of the school with his peeps. The principal was out there too. She allowed me to park in the bus lane as long as I hurried in with the baked goods. I was in the office and back out in less than a minute. Off to work. I didn’t see Bella anywhere.

Arrived on the 6^th floor right at 9am. I would never have guessed I’d make it in that early. My workday was a real stressor from the outset. For starters, I was summoned to an impromptu meeting in one of the posh conference rooms just down the hall. Not good news. Add to that, there was more going on than I could possibly handle. It was crazy all morning long.

I wanted/needed to make a Target run at lunchtime to pick-up a few small items for Bella’s b-day gift bag. I left for Target near 1pm. It was raw and raining on & off, by most accounts an ugly last day of September.

I found a handful of items that would work perfectly in her gift bag. I felt good about them all. Back at the office around 2pm, I jumped right back into the flames. To help ease the stress, I let some Pink Floyd whirl in the background. That helped immensely.

Mindy called as she was leaving school. We missed each other’s calls earlier in the day. We talked about the morning’s shoe incident and came to an agreement on how we should proceed. We agreed to talk more once I got home. She and I had plans to enjoy an evening at Barley’s while the kids spent the night with their dad. It would be our only opportunity for down time for the entire weekend with a 10am soccer game, Bella’s skating party and sleepover on Saturday, and then a family birthday party on Sunday.

Work was crazy until my departure at 545pm. Thought the weekend would never come. As it was, though, I felt conflicted because there were still hot issues dangling out there.

I called Mindy from the Accord. She was at Kohl’s on a planned shopping spree. Figured to be gone for a while but home in time to go to Barley’s. I arrived home around 610pm. It was nice having more than an hour of alone time to unwind after a tumultuous work week. I used the time to listen to some more Pink Floyd and update my blog. It was a near religious experience.

Mindy must’ve gotten home around 720pm. By then I was in pretty good spirits. Almost immediately and without asking, Mindy headed upstairs to change for an evening out. I’m thinking we left for Barley’s around 740pm. We drove the Accord.

During our drive Mindy asked if I’d heard back from my mom about her coming up this weekend. She sent an email Thursday, I think, asking about it. I responded being sure to share that we were having a 10 girl slumber party on Saturday night. Didn’t want her to be surprised. I never got a response.  Mindy was going to call her as we drove but got side tracked.

Good crowd at Barley’s. Not a lot of regulars, but our peeps Ben & Ryan were there. Haven’t hung with then since pre NYC. It was good to see them. Drank a couple Centennials and a White Rajah. Spent some time chatting with Thad & Monica, too.

Somewhat out of character, Mindy didn’t eat a thing all evening long and drank wine, beer, and even did a couple shots (buttery nipples) with Ryan and Ryan’s sister-in-law. She had quite a buzz going when we left for home. We bought Little Bob and his wife Carol a beer in commemoration of Bob’s retirement from the Columbus Public Library.

We arrived home around 11pm. I worried that Mindy would wake Saturday feeling as though she’d been run over by a truck. Good night September, the month of me.