Comparably Easy Friday

Happy 26th Ashley!

Was finally beginning to feel human again. Although, after penning that statement, I realized that waking overtly tired is as much of a human experience as waking feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed is. Perhaps a better expression would be that I woke feeling almost normal again after four days of tortuous jet lag.

I was out of bed and downstairs by 540am. Coffee was ready by the time sit-ups and push-ups were behind me. I enjoyed coffee at the PC until well after 6am. Did meditation ahead of waking Mindy. Completed stretching after.  Woke Mindy near 620am. It was 650am by the time I headed off on my run. It was right at freezing under a completely clear sky. A crescent moon hung low in the SE. Quite lovely!

I ran the full 4.1 mile track and was back home near 730am. By then, Mindy and the kids were gone. This was the start of a four day weekend for the kids, and a three day for Mindy. Mindy took the kids with her to school where she planned to enlist them as class volunteers. Seemed like a good idea.

There was a note attached to the microwave letting me know that my eggs were inside and that Eiknarf had been walked. That helped a lot. I enjoyed my breakfast in the solitude then headed up for a shower. It was Friday so I planned to wear jeans. I wore a soft black cotton sweater along with my new running shoes. I did some online banking before leaving the house. Thinking it was 840-845am when I departed.

Arrived at the office somewhere near 9am and parked in the front lot near the entrance. I felt alert and rested perhaps for the first time all week. I was determined to have a really good day. I spent the first part of my day chasing a few customer problems all the way to resolution. Thinking it was early afternoon when all three were solved. That felt good!

Got a text from Bob I. asking about skiing MRM on Saturday. Shared that I would likely meet him there. At the time I wasn’t sure if it would be just him or M.A. too. The weekend weather forecast was calling for sunshine both days but a high Saturday in the low 40s. Sunday, on the other hand, wasn’t expected to be much warmer than 36.

All in all, it ended up being a productive yet easy Friday, and for that I was most grateful. I left the office for home around 520pm and called Mindy on my drive. Kids were already gone, spending the weekend with Jimaken. He planned to bring them home around 1pm Sunday afternoon. We, in turn, planned to have Ashley over on Sunday to celebrate her 26th birthday. I asked Mindy if she wanted to go to MRM on Saturday. She didn’t, but said I could. She thought she might get her hair colored.

The house was sparkling clean after Rachel spent the day there cleaning. OM. Mindy walked the dog soon after I arrived home and then turned her attention to prepping herself for an evening at Barley’s. She sent a broadcast text to lots of folks letting them know where we’d be if they cared to join us. I’m thinking it was close to 7pm when we left for Barley’s.

For the third Friday Barley visit in a row, the place was splitting at the seams with people waiting for tables, which is really good for business. Mindy and I found a couple friendlies at the far end of the bar, Steve Wonn for one. Of course Mindy ate up all the attention she received over her braced right leg. She must’ve told the story ten times. I drank a Bitter Dan while Mindy sipped an EPIC stout. My second and last beer was a Founder’s Double Trouble. Mindy wanted to drink a second so I nursed number two before eventually switching to water. I didn’t mind. I was really tired anyways. We ordered food, too, me getting a Cuban, and Mindy ordering a salad topped with chicken.

Caught up with Doug & Jamie later. I had to be somewhere near 830-9pm. Doug and I chatted briefly about the passing of Michael Walton, a former All-American Cablevision co-worker. Michael was one of the first co-workers in my life that openly admitted being gay. He was a lot of fun and also very smart. I believe he was 56 when he passed.. Sadly, hadn’t seen him in 20 years or more (wow!). The world was a better place with Michael around. He’ll be missed.

I was ready to go around 930pm. I picked up the tab. And even though both of us were really tired, we called the neighbors to see if they were open to some company. Hadn’t spent anytime with them in a really long while. Turned out, they were just on their way home from dinner at the Japanese Steak House. Agreed to hook-up shortly.

We were home near 945pm. Judging by home lighting, it didn’t appear that the neighbors were yet home. We hung around the house for a few minutes, me getting sleepier by the minute. The neighbors lights came on just before 10pm so after a couple more minutes we walked down with the pug. I was carrying two White Rajahs in my arms along with a pint glass. Eiknarf was so excited that she jerked the leash lunging forward. The beer I had tucked between my arm and chest dropped and busted on the sidewalk. Mindy picked up the broken glass all the while Eiknarf had a field day licking up the spilt beer. I quickly pulled her away for fear that she might ingest small shards of broken glass. My bad!

It had been a long time since we last hung with the neighbors on a Friday night after Barley’s. I’ll bet dating back to the Xmas season. We had fun listening to Chrissy telling stories of her interactions with Jimaken while we were off on our ski adventure. I’m thinking it was 1050pm when I reached for my fleece. I was fading fast. Mindy claimed the same. We said our farewells then hiked down two lots to our home. We were soundly in bed ten minutes later, Eiknarf included. Good night moon!