Cold, Wind, & Rain

It happens a lot on Sunday nights and I’m not entirely sure why. Hour-wise, I get plenty of sleep, but for one reason or another, my Sunday night sleep is rarely sound. Instead, there’s a lot of tossing, turning, and waking numerous times. And the poor sleep is often accompanied by bad dreams. The outcome is that I wake feeling slightly under slept and angry.

I woke for good around 530am and by the time I brushed my teeth and stumbled down the stairs it was 535am. The coffee maker had just kicked on while I gazed out back at the mostly cloudy sky. It was windy, too. I slowly slipped into my exercise shoes and then began my calisthenics. At the outset the finish seemed insurmountable. But like most other days. They were done and behind me in a hurry – 50 sit-ups, windmills, and push-ups. I did my neck/back stretches too.

By 550am I was parked at my PC with a welcome cup of coffee. I read a few headlines and checked the weather. It was a balmy 62 degrees. Unfortunately, there was a strong cold front moving our way complete with wind, driving rain, and dropping temps. Honestly, after watching it move through Chicago during the SNF game, I was surprised that it wasn’t already upon us. It looked like it might break loose during my run, still about 40 minutes off. Yikes! Expected the temperature to drop down to near 40 by late afternoon. Hey, at least we had a lovely weekend. Chicago lost the SNF game at home in the rain and wind against a dome team, the Houston Texans. I was surprised.

I headed upstairs to wake Mindy near 610am. Soon back downstairs, I spent a little more time on the computer, which included checking in on work. Nothing of significance came in overnight. Good! Peeled away to stretch and meditate near 620am. During meditation I heard the rain begin to beat against the roof. Oh boy! Nothing I could do, short of being glad that there wasn’t any lightning. I finished meditation and stretching then dressed for a run. It was approximately 635am when I headed out the door. It was raining moderately as I left the porch. I did my level best to avoid the many puddles already formed by the heavy downpours. Wet shoes and socks are inevitable, but avoiding a puddle drenching is paramount to my comfort. 

I took the rain in stride. It creates a ‘me against the elements’ kind of mindset. I ran the full 4.1 miles with no trouble. Actually felt good. The rain proved intermittent – sometimes light and almost nonexistent, while other times heavy. I was dripping wet by the time I was back at the house.

I stood at the entry waiting for Bella to bring the leash and pug. She did so quickly. By then the rain was only light. The pug and I headed out for more wet. I was so warm and wet, the additional rain didn’t even phase me. Eiknarf took care of business pretty quickly. We headed back to the house for eggs.

Mindy was finally feeling a lot better but did have a coughing spell during the last couple hours of sleep. Come to think of it, her coughing could be one of the reasons my sleep was so sketchy. Mindy gave me a smooch then left for work. Bella and I chatted at the breakfast table for a few then both of us headed off to finish getting ready.

I was back downstairs before 8am. I spent the next 10 minutes packing my lunch. Bella suggested we wait for the bus from the garage. Good plan! We headed out at 810am. Bella had her umbrella and stood just outside the overhead garage door. Why the garage then? She finally agreed and came in undercover. I suspect she was looking for Makayla, who eventually found her way to the dry confines of our garage too. Chrissy didn’t come.

The bus showed up by 815am. I headed back inside where I took my time making final preparations and enjoying another cup of coffee. It was 835am when I left the house for work. Not only did I have a busy day planned, but I agreed to cover for my boss, too, who was taking a vacation day down at his cabin. I couldn’t help but laugh at the horrible weather. I’m sure he was hoping the sunny and 70 degree weather would hold for another day. Not to be. I never did get a single escalation on behalf of my boss. That’s good. I was more than busy trying to tackle my own agenda. In fact, I wasn’t able to get all of my to-do’s completed. I worked straight through the day, both on calls and then working on monthly reports and impromptu escalations. I took a couple stretch breaks, and at one point, must have been around 11am, the sky was as dark as night and the rain pounding against the building windows. Holy water buffalo batman!

I didn’t come up for air until almost quitting time. Mindy called sometime late afternoon reminding me that it was a Jimaken night – date night for us should we so choose. She also shared how horrid traffic was on 70/270. Apparently had the ramp from 70 to 270 closed and diverted traffic to Wilson. At rush hour, that backs everything up. Said it took her an hour to get home. Given the traffic and my less than restful night of sleep, I wasn’t too keen on going out, but suggested we decide for real once I was home.
To that end, I left the office at 505pm.

Pulling out of the lot, I gave brother Tommy a call, but got his VM. He called me back a few minutes later. I meant to take the back way home but jumped on 270 south out of habit. Nothing I could do then other than crawl home with everybody else. At least the traffic was moving, but it was at a snail’s pace. Tommy shared that he had been through it heading from Pickerington to Marysville. Took him twice as long as it normally would. We talked for a while, him sharing the progress of his shed rebuilding project that was destroyed by a fallen tree during a violent summer storm. Talked skiing, kids, and mom.

I arrived home around 545pm. Took me 40 minutes to get home. Traffic was a crawl from the second I entered 270 until I turned off of Wilson. Wilson was like a parking lot. I told Mindy that given the traffic and the nasty weather, I wasn’t up for heading out anywhere. She agreed. Our discussion quickly turned towards dinner. Hmm? I opted for hot dogs while Mindy opted for the last of the stuffed peppers. I asked that she set aside a little of the meat mixture so that I might top my hot dogs with it. That’s what I did.

The house was eerily quiet without the kids. Mindy shared that her sister, Jodie would be stopping by to drop of a prescription for Bella on her way home from the office. She comes this way anyhow, always avoiding 270 south given the messy construction. I’m thinking it was 620-630p before she made it there. Like the rest of us, she was caught up in the traffic snarl. She concluded that attempting to turn out of our subdivision onto Wilson would be next to impossible for her trip home. Mindy gave her instructions on taking the back way out to Hague.

The instructions were almost too simple: right when the road ends, then left when it ends again. Funny, that’s true, but there are so many curves that it seems so much more complicated. I suggested Mindy give Jodie a call in short order to make sure she found her way. Ashe did just that, and it sounded as though she found her way just fine.

Mindy &I let some soft music play in the background and soon changed into our PJs. We spent the next 30-45 minutes relaxing. Relaxing soon turned into a nap for me, however brief. I headed to my PC around 740pm to look over the insurance info Lindsey’s agent sent us. The kids got home a few minutes later. Had to be close to 745pm. Jacob was no sooner in the door then off to his room for homework. Bella played on her Kindle while also snacking on Krave. After 20 minutes of that I insisted that she put the Kindle away and read. Bella’s one of those that left to her own preferences, would play on that Kindle all night long.

She followed my directions and began to read aloud at Mindy’s prompting. Mindy suggested she read aloud for about 10 minutes. While she did that I took care of that insurance document. I pounced when I heard Bella talking to her momma about a commercial. I was sure she allowed her attention to divert towards the TV and away from her book. Turns out, I had to eat crow. She was sharing part of the story with her momma. Mindy gave me crap too! I apologized. We had Bella read silently for another 10 minutes leading up to 830pm and the MNF kickoff. At that point Bella headed up for a shower.

The game featured the KC City Chiefs at the Pittsburgh Steelers. Again, just like Sunday, the game being played in a cold, driving rain storm. Cool! The Chiefs took a surprising 10-0 lead. According to the announcers, their first lead all season long. I struggled to understand how they had won one game without ever leading. I think they won that single game in OT, though. Mindy headed to bed around 9pm, and I quickly fell asleep on the sofa. I didn’t even make it until halftime. Though I am pretty sure it was still halftime when I woke and stumbled to bed.