Me @ 53

Waking was easier than it’s been in a while. I was up, out of bed, and downstairs near 535am. Sure, it was my birthday, but that early in the morning stuff like that doesn’t make much difference. The coffee kicked into action just as I was making my way to the kitchen. Before doing exercise, I stepped out on the deck to check out the amazingly clear sky. It was gorgeous! There was a crescent moon hovering at about 10 o’clock near Venus, I believe. It was quite chilly, too. In fact, I could even see my breath.

Over the next 5-10 minutes I whipped out 50 sit-ups, windmills and curls. I had to wait a couple minutes for the brewing cycle to complete before enjoying coffee and internet. The first thing I checked online was the temperature. It was only 51 degrees but expected to reach 81 midafternoon under perfectly clear skies, which is what I’ve come to expect on September 11th, my birthday.

I checked football scores next. Of course the Ravens annihilated the Bengals something like 44-10. Having gone to bed before it was in the books, I didn’t get to see any of the 2nd game – the Raiders and Chargers. The Chargers won.

I enjoyed coffee & internet all the while contemplating the fact that it was my 53rd birthday. That’s an awful big number. Hardly seems possible. Surely somebody’s miscounted.  Mindy was staying home from school to rest after fighting a sinus in faction for the past week. She still requested I bring her coffee, but not until just before my run. I went ahead and made sure that Jacob was up then proceeded to stretch and meditate before waking Mindy. Headed upstairs with her coffee around 630am. She asked that I kill the ceiling fan.

I left for a run around 637am. It was chilly but I dressed for it wearing for the first time since last spring, my pullover fleece. Hello fleece! I was careful not to overdress, still wearing shorts and a short-sleeved running shirt. Glad I wore the fleece. I felt comfortable from the outset. I ran the full 4.1 miles making sure to remain present in each moment enjoying the run from start to finish.

Eiknarf was waiting at the door as I walked up the driveway. Bella brought me the leash. She also wished me happy birthday. Eiknarf and I headed out with the pink doo-doo bags Chrissy gave me. She was quick to take care of her business. We were back home by 725am. Mindy had a lemon poppyseed muffin waiting at my usual place setting along with a single birthday candle. They sang me the happy birthday song just before I ate my eggs.

Because she wasn’t going to school, Mindy sat down at the table with Bella and I eating half of a lemon poppy seed muffin. And because I don’t typically eat such things for breakfast, I asked if I could trade my whole muffin for the other half of hers. She agreed. And, boy, was it delicious! I told Mindy that I planned on heading in to the office since as recent as the evening before I shared that I might work from home. The main reason was that when I came home later that day I wanted it to feel like it. Often times when I work from home I find myself unable to let go as easily as when I leave the office.

I was off to the shower around 740am and showered and ready by 8am. I heard Mindy prompting Bella to ready for the bus stop. In response, I heard Bella remind her of the later pick-up time. With the few minutes ahead of bus time, I headed out to put the 2013 license plate stickers on both the Accord and BM’er. I decided then that I’d be driving the BM’er into work. It was the ideal day for it.

Neighbor Carl called out to me as I was placing the license sticker on the Accord. Scared the crap out of me! He shared that I need not ask my dad about borrowing his trailer just yet since he hadn’t yet confirmed that a thatcher was available for rent. I quickly shared that I had already checked and that the trailer wasn’t available this week anyhow. He chalked it up as a ‘meant to be’ experience.

I went from there to the bus stop where I joined Bella already there with Makayla and Chrissy. A minute later Bella’s friend Aelena pulled up in a minivan. Her mom let three girls out and shared that by dropping her kids there they could get on the bus a bit earlier. Said she would still sit across the street and wait for the bus. Chrissy & I both offered that she could go on in to work. She thanked us citing the need to get to work on time.

I believe the bus was on time if not even a few minutes early. I headed back home to make last minute preparations. And since it was such a lovely morning, Mindy and I spent a little time on the deck enjoying coffee. She reminded me that Tom C. was joining us for my birthday dinner – Chilean sea bass. I left for work near 840am.
Traffic was backed up to a near standstill on 270N. That’s rare! I didn’t let it bother me. Took it in stride. After all, it was my b-day! I enjoyed the drive in despite the traffic snarl. I Arrived at the office near 9am. As it was, I had a rather aggressive to-do list already waiting. But right out of the shoot, I had a couple urgent matters requiring my attention. Sizing them up, I knew they wouldn’t be quick hitters either. I was feeling the stress pretty quickly. Almost lost in the day was the fact that it was my birthday. That’s what happens when it falls on the weekday – and a middle of the week day at that.

I knew the stress wouldn’t subside until I had Wednesday’s presentation done. So while juggling the urgent matters, I managed to complete my PowerPoint presentation too. Getting that out of the way was like a weight being lifted off my shoulders. It was afternoon in the blink of an eye. I checked my Droid a couple of times. Received a number of birthday well wished via text and email. Received a number of Facebook requests too. Not sure if there was a direct correlation or simply coincidence. Thing is, I don’t use Facebook. I created a shell account a few years back but have nothing out there.

I ended up eating at my desk and working through lunch. A couple of times I got up to stretch feeling a little sorry for myself being cooped up inside on my birthday and a lovely day unfolding outside. I got over it quickly figuring I can celebrate any day I please. I made it a point to start tying up loose ends around 4pm so I could leave somewhere close to 430pm. That was a success. I left for home near 430pm without even a trace of guilt. I figured because I was getting out about an hour early that rush hour traffic would be nonexistent. That wasn’t the case. Traffic-wise there wasn’t any difference leaving an hour earlier. I still got home just before 5pm.

Jimaken was at the house, there to pick-up Jacob for the World Cup soccer match between the USA and Jamaica taking place at Crew stadium. Bella, meanwhile, was at the island doing her math homework with Mindy and in the middle of throwing a fit. Mindy asked that I try my hand at helping all the while Jimaken and Jacob readied for the soccer game. But Bella was already in a bad, sad way and beyond the point of return. I sent her to her room until she calmed down.

Jimaken had one of his buddies meet him at our place too. I didn’t know it until I heard another strange voice coming from the living room. His name was Kevin – older guy. Mindy knew him from days past and introduced us. We all chatted casually just before the three of them headed off to the game.

Mindy was already busy preparing my birthday meal. While I called my mom, Mindy went up to talk with Bella. I talked with my mom for about 10 minutes, discussing both her pending cataract surgery as well as the re-do of her knee replacement. Apparently they found infection in her knee and need to go in, remove the replacement and re-do it. I asked if she planned to do the post-operative physical therapy as outlined by the surgeon. Otherwise, I shared, why bother. She gave me a little crap for not inviting her to last Sunday’s grandparents day/birthday celebration. I shared that it was put together last minute.

After getting off the phone I found Bella lounging on the sofa on her Kindle Fire instead of redoing her homework. She quickly said she fixed it. I asked to see it but she refused until Mindy insisted she hand it over. Out of 8 problems, 5 were incorrect. Oh boy! I marked those needing a do-over and suggested she stop what she was doing and work on them right then, before dinner. She put up another fuss but we eventually worked through the problems, which were basic three places addition and subtraction. I showed her how to borrow and carry and then made her rewrite the problems and go through the exercise on her own. By the end I felt confident that she had it. She was much calmer, too.

Mindy had dinner ready near 545pm or the time Tom C. said that he’d be there. He arrived around 550pm coming over straight from work. Mindy quickly served up dinner – Chilean sea bass, grilled squash, bread and salad. I skipped salad as did Tom. The Chilean sea bass (Patagonian Toothfish) was exquisite. Mindy’s perfected its grilling. Good thing. The stuff is ridiculously expensive. Bella had a hot dog and cucumbers. No seafood for her, though she does like crab. Mindy grilled one Swordfish steak too. That’s what she had. Its texture reminds me of a pork chop.

After our meal and my dinner clean-up – that’s right, I still did clean-up even though it was my birthday  - Mindy got out two selections for desert, birthday cake and turtle pie. I think we all three had the cake. However, they sand to me again first. 
After enjoying cake Mindy insisted I open my cards and gift from the kids. How thoughtful, Bella. And how did you know? She and Jacob got me two rockets of Southern Tier Pumking. The three of us and Eiknarf headed out back to enjoy the gorgeous evening from the deck. Mindy poured each of us a pint of Bodhi from the Growler we brought home Saturday night. It was still really tasty. We sat on the deck talking for about an hour before Tom called it an evening and headed for home. It was probably close to 745p when he departed.

After Tom left I headed upstairs to brush my teeth and change into my comfy lounging/sleeping clothes. I then spent the next 30 minutes or so online reading some of the day’s headlines. Mindy quizzed me minute by minute as to the time. She was all over Bella for dragging out her shower. She typically lets the water run for 5-10 minutes before getting in. Drives Mindy batty!

Soon after her shower was over Bella asked if I wanted to watch some Science Channel. Sure, why not. Turned out, there wasn’t much of interest on. About the same time, Mindy declared it her bed time. It was somewhere close to 9pm. I asked if she wanted/expected me to wait up for Jacob. She said not. Didn’t expect him home until 11p. Bella and I ended up popping some popcorn and watching the soccer game that Jacob was at. Bella watched for only a few minutes or until the popcorn was gone. The core was 0-0 at the time. It was a boring game but I continued watching while also relaxing from the sofa. The USA scored near the end of regulation and won 1-0. Once I started to dose I got up and headed for bed. Good night birthday moon!
Thanks to Mindy for a lovely birthday dinner and thanks to those who sent cards and well wishes.