Take a Knee

It was Tuesday morning and time to return to work. I was up on time, in fact a couple minutes early. I headed downstairs and slipped into my running shoes. The coffee maker kicked on while I was glancing out back at the weather. The skies were cloudy but the deck mostly dry. Didn’t appear to have rained more over night.

I completed calisthenics then checked the weather from my PC. It was 57 degrees with a chance for rain all day long, though a stronger chance in the early AM. Looking at the radar, the weather was coming from the NE, which is very odd. That typically only happens in late May, just before our summer weather arrives. Furthermore, the week ahead isn’t looking too good at all. Clouds and rain everyday leading up to my birthday. Somebody didn’t get the memo. That’s simply not allowed.  J

It was trash day, but our can hadn’t yet been moved to the curb. Not wanting to risk being missed, I took it out before doing anything else. Still just ahead of 6am, I decided to do meditation before taking Mindy some coffee. It was ten minutes later when I finished and delivered her coffee. I headed back downstairs for a stretch and then out the door for my run. It was still ahead of 630am as I exited the house.

I dressed in a long running layer and was comfortable throughout. I ran the full 4.1 miles track. It remained dark through the first half of my run. The cloudy skies weren’t helping. the daylight’s cause. I moved our empty trash can back to its resting spot after returning from my run. I continued around back hoping to get in through the back deck door. Mindy was in the garage grabbing lunch drinks for the kids. Took her a minute to recognize me standing, waiting at the door.

Mindy was busy multitasking, frying eggs and prepping lunches. I did my best to keep out of her way while gathering the extras for my breakfast and lunch. During breakfast we discussed the day’s logistics. Jacob had a 6pm soccer game in Hilliard, so I decided it best to simply meet them there.

After fixing Bella’s hair, Mindy left for school around 730am. Bella expressed not feeling so well: clogged sinuses and a cough. Uh-oh! I headed off to the shower after feeding Eiknarf some leftover scrambled eggs.

After a shave and a shower I was ready to go by 755am. Downstairs I put the finishing touches on my lunch and then spent a few more minutes playing on my PC. I had to call for the kids at 810am. That’s unusual. Normally they come down on their own.

I hurried them out the door with the bus now arriving closer to 815am for the last week or so. The neighbors came out with only a minute to spare. The bus pulled up right at 815am. Woody somehow escaped his collar causing Chrissy to briefly panic. Disaster averted. She regained control quickly. No doubt in my mind that he’d run off in a heart beat given half a chance.

The kids now gone, Eiknarf and I headed back home. Chrissy shared that Makayla had a soccer game at the same fields as Jacob but 30 minutes later. I started the dishwasher then left for the office. It was 822am.

The sky looked like it was trying to clear, but with the weather coming out of the NE, I wasn’t holding my breath. I arrived at the office around 840am and quickly got myself situated. Ran into my boss in the hallway. We chatted briefly about the weekend now behind us.

I spent the greater portion of my day dealing with urgent reactive issues. I sent brother Bob a text asking for an update on dad’s status. He never did respond. Mindy, however, sent me a couple updates that she gleaned from Facebook. Apparently, he was using it to send updates instead of texts. That’s certainly more efficient. Dad wasn’t taken into surgery until sometime just after 12noon. I believe that was the plan all along.

The day moved fast. I didn’t bother leaving for lunch. I glanced outside at some point and was happy to see a little sunshine. But when 530pm rolled around it was cloudy again. Mindy called me around 4pm to let me know that Jacob’s soccer game was at 630pm, not 600pm like she thought earlier. That made a difference. I planned to head home and ride with the others. Jimaken, meanwhile, was stopping by to pick Jacob up because the players and coach did need to be there by 6pm. Mindy also shared that we’d be having leftovers for dinner. Mindy also shared that my dad was out of surgery and supposedly did really well. Said he’d be out of it for the better part of the day. They didn’t recommend visitors.

It was downright chilly when I left the office. The sky was gray and the wind was blowing at a pretty good clip. The clouds were still rolling in from the NE, too. Arrived home around 550pm. I changed out of my work clothes and into long running pants and a t-shirt. I rinsed lunch dishes and prepped Wednesday’s coffee before we left for soccer. I grabbed my fleece jacket, too. Good thing I did. If we’ve learned anything about the Hilliard soccer fields, it’s that it’s always 10 degrees cooler than elsewhere and the wind’s always blowing much harder.

Arrived near 615pm and after a little driving around we found the correct field (there are many). We toted our camp chairs to the sideline and set up our spot. Bella chose to bring her Winnie the Pooh blanket too.  We could only laugh at the weather, given that it was almost 100 degrees only three days prior. It was actually cold sitting on the sidelines. Soon it started to drizzle and the already stiff breeze picked up even more. In fact, it got so chilly that Mindy & Bella bagged it for the Pilot. I remained steadfast toughing out the big chill. Good thing I had my fleece jacket. I used Bella’s Winnie the Pooh blanket, too.

Jacob’s team lost 3-1. He scored their only goal. They played good, if not great, defense, though. Just couldn’t get anything going offensively, and I mean nothing. One other note, Jacob’s the biggest, tallest kid on his team. I’ll bet he’s on average, 8 inches taller than the others. Wow! He’s really sprouted up over the last year. According to Mindy., he’s grown 4 inches over the last year.

Jacob didn’t take the loss very well at all. He was a pill during the entire drive home. Wasn’t pleasant, including blaming other kids for their failures. We did our best to turn his thinking around, but he was still bummed. Mindy, Bella and I were just happy to be home and warm. J Mindy started dinner immediately in the door. She and Bella were having grilled cheese. Jacob wanted only cereal, and cited feeling ill. I made a grilled meatloaf sandwich. It ended up being about 4 or 5 inches thick. It looked yummy. I ate only half after snacking on peanuts and cashews beforehand.

I wasn’t feeling 100% either. I held out hope that I wasn’t coming down with a cold. Can’t happen. No time!

After clean-up, Mindy sent Jacob upstairs to get a shower. She gave Bella a hall pass. I plopped down on the sofa and tuned to one of the knowledge channels. The program we watched escapes me. More than anything, I used it as a sleep aid. I was out in a hurry and just before 9pm.

I didn’t wake again until 1005pm. By then, I was the only one downstairs. I got up, glanced outside, secured the home and headed to bed. It was raining again. L