Return to Rain

I woke a few times during the night trying to find that elusive sweet spot. And then, sometime around 2am, I actually got up and headed in to check on Jacob. I called his name a couple of times to which he only moaned and groaned and rolled over. At the time, I viewed that as evidence enough that he was OK. I headed back to bed feeling a bit more at ease. I later learned that Mindy did the same thing around midnight. I checked him again when I got up for good at 545am. I felt justified in sleeping late due to the kids and Mindy having the day off. I wouldn’t need to see the kids onto to the bus.

I was downstairs engaged in calisthenics a few minutes later, and by 555am I had both sit-ups and push-ups behind me.  I poured some coffee then retreated to my PC where I read some headlines and checked the weather. It was still pretty chilly, only 23 degrees. However, the forecast was calling for a high of 42 with along with a chance of rain by mid day. Unfortunately, the 3.5 day cold snap wasn’t built to last. The 10 day forecast shows a lot of up and down, but more importantly in the mid 40’s for the weekend which would pretty much put a damper on more skiing.

Read a few sports related headlines then headed off to meditate near 610am. Completely unconcerned for the time, I had a very good meditation. I wasn’t finished until 630am. Stretching, of course, was next, and that went well also, but I could definitely feel the effects of two full days of skiing.

It was darn near 7am by the time I was heading out the door for my run. And given the freezing temps, I was dressed in full winter running attire. I ran the full 4.1 miles and witnessed a beautiful firey orange sunrise.

Back at home the house remained quiet. Everybody else remained asleep in bed. And since I wasn’t sure how late they’d sleep, I headed up to get Eiknarf so I could take her on a walk. As soon as we were back, I made my own breakfast frying the last two eggs in the fridge. Mindy planned on going to grocery store sometime during the day. It occurred to me that I hadn’t eaten fried eggs in quite a while. It was darn near 8am when I finally headed up for a shower.

Sometime during my ready Mindy got up and headed downstairs. She was at her computer when I reemerged showered and dressed. We compared notes on Jacob’s status, her sharing that she got up and checked on him around midnight. While we were talking, Jacob woke up and came downstairs. Said he was feeling a whole lot better, and asked his mom if she would take him to MRM after he got back from hanging out with his dad. We suggested that if he wanted to board/ski with the others that he simply call his dad and tell him. Either that, or see if he could pick them up after skiing. I thought he might change his mind after a good night’s sleep. And honestly, that’s what I was hoping he’d do. I want him to get lots of reps on his new board.

Mindy reminded me about the carpets being cleaned. Expecting them to arrive around noon. She planned to move as many things (chairs, plants, etc) as she could before their arrival. We chatted another five minutes or so while the Accord thawed. I left for work around 830am.

Clouds started moving in even during my run, and by the time I arrived at work there was a distinct diagonal line of separation between the clear and the clouds. Looked like the northern burbs were still drenched in sun while the south and west were socked in by cloud cover. 

It was a relatively slow day, with plenty of time to take care of the many lingering tasks I wanted/needed to accomplish. Didn’t hear from Mindy all morning long. I’m thinking that I called her around 130pm. By then the carpet guy had already been there and gone. The kids, she confirmed, both went to MRM with the neighbors. She was headed to the grocery. Kenny said they’d be home sooner rather than later if it started to rain, which it started to do around 3-330pm.

My day went pretty fast. I left the office for home around 515pm. I called Mindy again on my drive home. She was home from the grocery and busy cutting up fruit. I let her go and then called my mom. Hadn’t talked with her for a week or so. Mom said she was in bed watching TV, not feeling too well. Shared that her knee replacement surgeon suggested that her ongoing pain and swelling may be attributed to her legs being 1mm off in length. No kidding, said he wants her to come in so he can STRETCH it out. Where did this bozo get his medical license, Wal-Mart?  Despite her not feeling well, seemed to be in pretty good spirits. Went on to say she plans to live to 97. I think she just threw that number out there. Wasn’t tied to any specific event that I’m aware of.  Bid her farewell when I pulled in the drive at home.

Mindy was still busy in the kitchen cutting up fruit. Said the Downey carpet cleaning guy emphasized that the carpet will stand taller, firmer if we stay off it until it’s completely dry. Suggested 6 hours, but I know all too well that it’s more like 24 hours. Mindy said she was impressed with his work. Kind of hard to tell, though, without any bright ,natural lighting.

Once she was finished cutting up fruit, we reheated some of last week’s chicken & noodles. Still good. Kenny texted that they were leaving MRM just after 6pm. Trying to avoid trampling the damp carpets, I vowed an evening away from my PC. At one point I resorted to playing on Bella’s Kindle Fire but found it too difficult to browse and gave up. Mindy was using her laptop from the kitchen table like she always does. The kids laptop was available for use had I really needed/wanted online. I opted not.

I did head upstairs to change into more comfy lounging attire. Before Bella got home, we decided to keep her home from gymnastics. Didn’t seem like a good idea – ski all day then got to gymnastics till 830pm. The kids were home by 7pm. We guided them through the garage to stow their ski gear then Mindy had them toss their ski attire and bags to her in the basement where she took a quick inventory to make sure they didn’t lose any crucial gear. They didn’t. Kids said they had a blast despite the all day drizzle.

Mindy had them ready for bed over the next half hour or so and then Jacob did 90 minutes of reading. While Jacob read, Bella played on the computer, although she was researching an author that wrote the book she’s been reading. I tuned the TV to a basketball game but watched only passively until Mindy suggested we watch this MLK DVD she brought home from school. Apparently she and the kids watched part of it earlier. It was in cartoon form and was fairly well done, wrapping a story about kids from the current going back in time and bringing MLK forward.  I fell asleep through part but still caught the gist of it. After the movie, the kids had a snack and then headed to bed. And just like most other work nights, Mindy headed up to read shortly after the kids were tucked into bed. I stayed up watching a Morgan Freeman, Through the Worm Hole rerun. I fell asleep on the sofa waking near 1030 pm and then heading for bed.