Mindy Sees the Knee Doctor While Bella Sees Dr Seuss

Woke feeling sleepy again, and that was after almost 9 hours of sleep. It lasted beyond sit-ups, push-ups, & coffee. No doubt suffering from a bout of jet lag. It wasn’t until after mediation and a stretch that I began to come to life and feel alive again. The good news is that it’s getting better with each passing day.

I set out on my run later than I wanted to but still before 645am. It was 33 degrees under mostly cloudy skies.  I ran the full 4.1 miles. I felt good and noticed my legs feeling about as fresh as they have since before we left on our ski vacation.

I was back at home after 35 minutes or so and ready to walk the pug. Started Mindy’s Pilot too. There was enough ice and snow on the walk and drive in places that I felt the need to shovel it away, especially given Mindy’s knee situation. I was able to get most of it up but actually, it left it even slicker than it was prior in a few places. I insisted that Mindy exit via the garage for better footing.

Mindy left for work soon after I finished shoveling. She wouldn’t be teaching. Instead, she would be attending East Franklin to observe another teacher’s lesson structure. They do that a couple times each year. She also had her MRI follow-up visit with the orthopedic doctor scheduled for 330pm or so, and she planned on going to lunch with her mom and nephew Joe. Definitely, a busy day.

The kids and I carried on as usual, with me woofing down my eggs then heading up for a shower. We were all ready to go near 8am and headed to the bus stop at ten after the hour. Met Chrissy and the girls at the bus stop. Jacob asked Chrissy what Kenny got her for Valentine’s Day. Flowers and a Pandora charm.  Soon the bus was there and the kids off to school.

I’d be heading to my customer’s New Albany campus. I fooled around at home until 830am. I opted to take 670east which worked out pretty well again. No traffic snarls whatsoever. In kind, I made excellent time, arriving in their lot around 850am.

The managers had a team meeting that conflicted with our regular Wednesday AM call so we moved it out by 30 minutes. That just gave me more time to take care of other stuff. Not a big deal. The call went well and lead right into our monthly service review meeting. We had just a couple folks join remotely via conference bridge. That was over sometime just before noon making for a fairly easy morning.

I opted not to take a formal lunch break but ate my packed food while working at my desk. The afternoon went fairly smoothly too. And for that I was grateful. I spent a little time preparing for another customer service-review meeting scheduled for Thursday AM downtown. I always do better when I know the material and anticipate any questions ahead of time. Mindy called around lunch time and then after her follow-up orthopedic visit. Lunch with Gloria and Joe went fine but quickly. The orthopedic specialist confirmed what he originally diagnosed – torn MCL, but also a very slightly torn ACL along with micro fractures. Said it sounds worse than it is and should heel nicely in about 8 weeks. Change her to a black hinged knee brace that she’s expected to wear for the entire 8 week span.

We talked about a possible spring break ski trip the night before. She asked for his opinion about that given that will be about the 8 week mark. He said no way, but that she should be good as new by next ski season. That’s what I expected. I guess I’ll have to suck it up and go alone. J

We had a beef roast in the crock-pot and my dad getting the kids off the bus. We expected him to stay for dinner but didn’t have confirmation of that. I left New Albany for home near 510pm on what turned out being a fairly mild winter afternoon. It was in the upper 40’s and under partly sunny skies. I dared to take 270s to 670w until I noticed that all southbound 270 traffic at a standstill just before turning onto the entrance ramp. I quickly changed my plans and turned around near Easton and took 270n and west.

I called Mindy once I was safely on the freeway sharing my 25 minute ETA. Said my dad was there and staying for dinner. The drive home went smoothly, no traffic snarls, not even in Hilliard where the normal slow downs typically occur. Arrived home by 545pm which was really good.

Greeted dad and Mindy as well as the kids. Everybody seemed in good spirits. Dinner wasn’t quite  ready to be served. I used the five minutes before dinner to finally unpack our skis and ski boots and store the associated luggage in the basement. Felt good to get that done. Getting closer to normalcy.

Mindy let us know that she bought a different cut of roast – rump versus English, which is her mother’s preference. She says it’s more tender and less stringy. She was right. It was tender and less stringy. Wisdom! Dinner was delicious – roast beef, salad, and mashed potatoes. Everyone enjoyed it. Dad asked about our ski trip despite Mindy’s accident. I quickly asked, “accident? That didn’t happen by accident. I pushed her down”. That drew a laugh. J Dad shared his most recent gambling boat visit with friend Pete. Neither won a thing.

Like usual, I managed clean-up while Bella readied for gymnastics. I had already agreed to do both the drop and pick-up so Mindy could relax. Dad headed down the basement to see Jacob’s catapult. The two of them hung out down there for a good 20 minutes, maybe longer.

Left to drop Bella at gymnastics near 650pm. Mindy handed me a check to cover her February classes. I needed to drop it off to the office. I talked to the office manager/owner. Can’t recall her first name. She let me know about the next competition, which is down near Gallipolis again. Not sure if we’ll be doing that or not. Need to pow-wow with Mindy. Headed home.

As soon as I got home I changed into comfy attire and then unpacked my suitcase still resting on our bedroom floor. Almost everything in it was ski gear of some type. I hung up the jackets and gathered the soiled under garments for laundering. While going in and out of the closet I confirmed that Mindy wasn’t going to be doing the same as she was contending with putting away clean laundry. Said not. That’s good, because I absolutely hate competing for the limited space.

But even though we discussed it, soon she was right on top of me in the closet. And when I asked about it she snapped. Yikes! I quickly finished what I had to do, which again felt really good to finally put vacation behind me. It was already approaching 8pm. My how time flies. I spent the time ahead of fetching Bella playing around online. I left to get her at 820pm.

Only three girls at practice that night, Bella and two others. Small crowd. Bella asked if we could stop at Wendy’s on the way home. I explained that we didn’t get so rich by making such fly by the seat of the pants decisions. J Not really. I just said no. We just ate dinner 2 hours prior. She pouted the rest of the way home, whining about having to spend the weekend with her daddy after we’d been gone all of the last week. Said we never have family time and that she never gets to ski with us. Says she’s always on the mountain looking for us. Right! This coming from the girl that says, by mom, going off to ski with Makayla. I could understand the weekend thing, but the reason is that both Mindy & Jim want to get back on the regular schedule. I joked that the next time we head to MRM I’m going to insist that she skis with us the entire day. 

She pouted all way in the door and quickly headed to her room. After briefly explaining to Mindy what was eating Gilbert Grape, I headed up to cheer her up. Figured we’d spend some daddy/daughter time. We laid there in her bed reading a couple Dr Seuss books, Hop on Pop, and One Foot, Two Foot. By the end of the 2^nd book she was in a far better place. Mindy hobbled up the stairs to join us, too.

Saw the very end of Idol that Mindy & Jacob had been watching but then readied for bed. I was excited about the possibility of an early bedtime. It’s not that I was feeling so tired, rather, just trying to put an end to the morning jet lag. In bed well before 10pm.