A Winter Amiss

I woke near 520am but then laid there for about five minutes before finally getting out of bed. It was still before 530am when I glanced out back at the star filled sky and then went and slipped into my exercise shoes. I felt pretty good after about 7.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I was well into my sit-ups before I realized I hadn’t hit the go button on the coffee maker. After sit-ups I headed to the kitchen to get the coffee going.

I might’ve waited about three or four minutes before engaging in push-ups. I completed 50 of them easily. Not bad for an old man. The coffee still needed a few minutes. I headed to the PC still without coffee where I played around online until it was done brewing.

The coffee was ready by 550am. I made a cup then returned to the PC where I spent an additional 10+ minutes. Next up was meditation. I spent about ten minutes doing that, and was fairly successful at silencing the incessant mind chatter. It was just after 610am and time to wake Mindy. I delivered coffee being careful as I kicked the decorative bed pillows aside making my way to her night stand. She asked how I was feeling. Good.

I didn’t visit long. I headed back downstairs where I cranked up the heat a few notches then headed back to the family room for a thorough stretch. Felt terrific. I probably went a little longer than normal but it felt so good. It was worth burning the few extra minutes.

I checked the temperature before deciding my attire. It was about 30 degrees so I opted for the full winter stuff. I was out the door by 635am where I ran the full 4.1 mile track with relative ease. I realized that we’re one of maybe five houses in the entire subdivision still burning Xmas lights. I planned to pull the power cords once back at home. For some reason that also made me think about the hose reel at the west side of the house. I couldn’t remember if I disconnected it from the bib. I knew for certain that I left the reel out. I planned to check that too, and disconnect it from the bib if it was indeed still connected.

After my run and while waiting on Mindy & Bella to corral the pug for our walk, I pulled the timer and extension cord feeding our Xmas lights. Done for another year. I then popped over the flower beds and around to the hose bib to check the hose connections. I was glad to see that I had in fact disconnected the hose reel from the spigot. By the time I was back inside, Mindy had the pug ready for a walk.

She and I walked over the bridge and to the west where she ultimately relieved herself, but not before giving a blowing grocery bag a careful once over. :) Back at the house and before digging in to breakfast, I gathered up my stuff for the Kidney Foundation. Mindy had some stuff out too. Collectively, we had three bags and an old Coleman water jug.

Felt like I accomplished a morning’s worth of chores in all of about ten minutes. Heck, my day was done. J NOT!

Mindy was out the door for work just as I was sitting down at the table for breakfast. Bella was having an egg, too only hers was the fried/dippy variety. Jacob, as you may recall, spent the night at his dad’s. It was pretty quiet, just me, Bella, and Eiknarf.  I wasn’t to the shower until 740am, or about five minutes later than usual. I planned to wear the same clothes I wore to the funeral on Sunday – all black.

I was downstairs and ready to go by 800am.Before heading out to the bus I pulled together a lunch in a hurry consisting of cheese, fruit, and banana. I also planned to eat a package of tuna that I already had in my desk at work. Bella and I headed out at 810am. She handled Eiknarf while I started the Accord. Thanks Bella! Kenny was out with the girls. That hasn’t happened in a while. Not sure where Chrissy was. Talked about the crazy weather. Expecting it to reach 50 degrees with sunshine for the next couple of days. Cold again by the weekend though. I hope that forecast sticks so we can ski. The bus pulled up near 815am. Eiknarf I headed back home.

I took care of a few last minute tasks then hit the road by 822am. It was a nice drive into the office. Looks more like spring than midwinter. Here we are on January the 9^th and so far we’ve had just a trace of snow for the season. I’m sure that could all change on a dime, but looking at the 10 day forecast doesn’t show it changing anytime soon. We might very well get through winter without any significant snow fall.

The first winter that Mindy and I were together (‘05/’06) we got one big snow fall in early December but then it didn’t snow again until February. In fact, I think we had a 6 week stretch where the daily high never went below freezing. But if memory serves, we had a cold, wet spring and didn’t get any really nice weather until late May.

I had one of the burnt out bulbs from the curio cabinet in my jacket pocket. I decided to stop at Home Depot on my way in rather than wait until my lunch break, which more often than not never happens. Heck, I drive right past the Home Depot anyway. The place is deserted that early in the AM. It took a little while to find the right bulbs – medium base. They were $3.50 each. I bought two since both appear to be burnt out. That’s all I bought. I was back in the Accord still well ahead of 9am and at the office a couple minutes later.

My goal for the work day was to have one of my monthly reports fully completed and in a PowerPoint.  I completed that goal by mid day. Talked with Mindy for a few minutes just before noon.  I believe she had her observation that morning. I had other things I needed to address, like joining two regularly scheduled calls. Both of those were in the bag by 230pm. The day was soaring by. Got a text from Darwin asking for our Oregon flight information. I sent it via email.

Didn’t leave the office until 540pm. It was nearly dark, though the sky was absolutely gorgeous on the western horizon. Called Mindy. Said Jacob tested positive for Strep. Dr Craig gave him the option of a shot or ten days of antibiotics. He opted for the antibiotics. What a wuss! Both Mindy &I agreed that we wouldn’t have given him the option. It would’ve been the shot.  Mindy said that she would be staying home with Jacob on Tuesday since he was still sporting a fever. She also shared that we’d be having rotisserie chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner. Sounded good to me.

 Arrived home near 6pm. Jacob picked on Bella all through dinner. He must’ve been feeling better. The chicken was delicious. We all love that stuff. If you haven’t ever tried one, next time you have the urge for KFC, pop in the grocery and pick-up a rotisserie chicken instead. Yum-yum!

It was Monday and a gymnastics night for Bella. Mindy planned to do the drop and asked that I do the pick-up. OK. They left while I was still dealing with dinner clean-up. I played around online a little, and once Mindy got back home we headed to the family room where Jacob and I tuned the TV to the BCS national championship pregame festivities. I dosed from the sofa in a hurry. In fact, come pick-up time, I was still effectively out. And since Mindy was staying home with Jacob on Tuesday, she opted to run after Bella after all, leaving me to my much needed slumber.

The BCS championship game kicked off at 830pm. I was awake again by then but still incredibly tired. Mindy headed to bed around 9pm and sent the kids there early too. However, she let Jacob watch a little more of the game from his room. I fell asleep again from the sofa while watching the boring game. I woke at halftime and saw a score of 9-0 LSU. I was still half asleep and thought nothing of it. I headed up for bed, my body almost numb from being so sleepy. Good night moon!