Off with her knee!

It was Wednesday and I was up right on time. A quick glance skyward confirmed what was forecasted. Nothin' but clear skies, so the stars were out in full force. Very nice. Thank you universe!

Like I did the day before, I did my stretch routine before anything else. Felt good.

Good timing. Right after I finished my stretch, the coffee had finished its brewing process. I poured my first cup of coffee then headed to my PC to check the weather and headlines. Like a lot of days in the past couple weeks, it was 54 degrees. Expected a high in the mid 70’s with nothing but sunshine. Expecting the same for the next four or five days, too.

I must’ve spent about 20 minutes online, before walking away to first deliver Mindy’s coffee and then meditate. Finished both those tasks by 625am. Time to run, I wore a short sleeved wicking shirt along with a pullover fleece. I hit the street near 630am.

I ran the usual 4.1 mile track without a problem. It was nice to see the sky turn from indigo blue to a burnt orange. Back at home, I inspected the newly seeded areas of my front lawn. Finally, we have germination at the 10 day mark. Because it’s a mix of fescue and blue grass the germination schedule is wide - 10-21 days. I took a minute to give those areas a squirt of water to combat the all-day sunshine before heading in to breakfast.

Inside, everyone was in good spirits. Funny what nice weather will do for one’s attitude. Both kids were having Fruit Loops again. I had fried eggs. They were good. The available fruit, however, left a bit to be desired. The pineapple looked bad and the strawberries on their last leg.  I ate a few select strawberries, raspberries, and watermelon.

I’m pretty sure that Mindy told the kids to bus home with Noah for having another after school meeting. She left near 730am. I headed off to the shower a couple minutes later. I dressed somewhat casual since we were having our team symposium.

Checked the blinds.com website for any new shipping information for my recent purchase. Nothing. The kids and I headed to the bus stop at 810am. The bus was along after a few short minutes. Walked Eiknarf out front before heading inside. Left for work at 818am. I was in a hurry, needing enough time once at work to set-up my out-of-office.

Turns out, I had plenty of time. I was one of the first at the conference room. I introduced myself to all the folks I hadn’t met before (those that came in fro Cincy, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Louisville. We didn’t get started until about 930am.

I’ve never been one to enjoy round the room introductions. And if I have to do it, I much prefer to go first. I was close to last on this occasion, though I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I might be. Don’t ask me why I get nervous. Always have.

We went until 1130am when lunch arrived: pizza, salad, and pop. My boss was quick to share that I was gonna eat poorly with the rest of them this day. I was happy to partake. You see, eating extra healthy 95% of time affords me opportunities such as this to eat crap completely guilt free.

It was a working lunch. We continued marching through our tight agenda. At some point my peers and I headed off to another conference room to talk issues pertaining more specific to only us. We had some good dialogue.

We reconvened near 230pm to forge through our last hour together. We stuck to the agenda closely and called it complete at 330pm. I took a peer from Cincy downstairs to meet some of the engineers he’s worked with but had never previously met. I returned to my office to catch up on everything that built up through the day. I ended up working until almost 6pm. I had a lot to do.

And since I was working off site on Thursday, I had to remember to pack up all the essentials. I called Mindy on my drive home. Never asked what was for dinner. Got a text late afternoon from mom’s friend Denise sharing that her knee replacement surgery went well. Thanks Denise! If all went as planned, I hoped to head down to Adena Thursday after work.

Again, it was nice to drive home smothered in sunshine. Mindy and Bella had already eaten. They left some for me on the stove – tortellini and red sauce. It was good. It was Wednesday and a gymnastics night for Bella. Mindy said she'd deliver. Wanted me to pick-up. Still dealing with nagging cold symptoms, I really wanted to take a brief nap on the livingroom floor. However, Jacob was after me to toss the football. It's something we haven’t done in ages.

I put the nap on the back burner and headed out with Jacob, who wanted to use our regulation size football. We haven’t used it since we bought two or three smaller balls. I had to laugh while we tossed the ball thinking back to the first time he and I threw the football when he was 5 or 6. He’d frequently run in crying to Mindy after falling or taking the ball in chest, head, or groin. Not anymore. He’s gotten pretty good. Can throw the ball really well. It took a while for my arm to loosen. I’ll bet we tossed the football for 30 minutes. A good work out.

Inside, I took brief rest before going after Bella. Arrived a few minutes early. They quickly released Bella, but I asked if I could see her routine. Absolutely. Her coach called her to attention and had her run through the entire thing. She did a tumbling thing, then a mini-trampoline routine followed by one on the larger trampoline. She did great! I applauded her effort. I could tell she was proud of herself. As we walked to the car she told me that was the best she’s ever done. Wanted to confirm that I’d be at her first formal performance on the 15^th, too. Said she can’t wait. It did my heart good to see/hear here enjoying it that much. She’s definitely built like a gymnast.

At home both the kids readied for bed and had a snack. I dosed from the sofa for about 20-30 minutes. Mindy and the kids headed to bed shortly after 9pm. I woke and felt wide awake. I ended up popping some popcorn. I enjoyed it by my lonesome while watching Dark Matters. Good night moon!