Cutting the Cord

Like a lot of mornings of late, I over slept by several minutes, not getting out of bed until almost 550am. And by the time I was downstairs preparing to exercise, it was already closing in on 6am. I breezed through sit-ups, windmills, and push-ups eager to get to the coffee phase of my morning. Ahh! Because it was already after 6am, I headed upstairs to wake Mindy before enjoying any coffee of my own. At 620am I was finally able to kick back and play for a while.

I decided then that I wasn’t going to rush to get out for my run. Instead, I took the time to log on to my Cord Camera account and upload the many photos I wanted to print. That took some doing as I wasn’t entirely sure how to upload my created albums. I figured it out with relative ease. The uploader works far better, faster than it used to. I guess the credit should be split between both Time Warner and Cord. Uploaded 264 photos in about 15 minutes, and that included creating 4 distinct folders on Cord’s online tool. According to Cord’s website, the photos should be available for pick-up same day. Was very pleased to have that task out of the way. I headed to the family room for meditation and stretching. It was about 635am.

Between the two, I spent about 15 minutes. Jacob was downstairs having his breakfast while I stretched. He was dressed in shorts. It was around 50 degrees again with some very light rain. It was already 7am. I headed upstairs to bid Mindy farewell before my run.

As much as I hated to, I trimmed my run to just three miles for the fourth day in a row. Even then, Mindy was already gone by the time I got back home. I was happy to see that the Rumpkee recycling picked up the extra recycling we left sitting by the can even though the written policy states that they won’t.

Bella was on the ball. She came to the door with the pug and leash as soon as I was back at home after my run. Eiknarf took care of business in a hurry. We hustled back home for some eggs. My two fried eggs were waiting in the microwave. I nuked for 12 seconds to get them hot. At the same time, Bella saw to it that the pug was fed and watered.

It was already 755am by the time I finished breakfast. I decided to hold off on the shower until after bus stop time and instead, used the time to unload the dishwasher. 810am came around in a hurry. As planned, Bella carried out her bag of gifts along with her back-pack. Amongst the gifts was one for Mrs. Vanorder, the bus driver. She’s been doing this route since Jacob’s 1st grade school year, perhaps longer. By the way, tomorrow, Tuesday, December 18th is the kids’ last day of before Xmas break. Man that came around fast!

Once Bella & Makayla were safely on the bus, Chrissy shared some details of her work Xmas party. Sounds like Kenny had a little too much fun. Eiknarf and I headed for home. I took a shower as soon as we were back inside. Threw together some veggies, cheese, nuts and fruit for lunch, made sure I had my Cord receipt, then left for work near 9am.

Arrived at work a little later than I would’ve liked, but I this time of year one needs to take advantage of every opportunity to prep for Xmas. It really makes no sense. Can’t tell you how many people I’ve heard complain recently of being overly stressed/taxed all in the name of Xmas. Isn’t this a time for joy, family, friends, and fun?

Work was actually as calm as it’s been in recent memory, but then again, that’s pretty typical for this time of year barring some catastrophic event. Believe me, I welcome the break with open arms! Talked with my boss. He told me all about his weekend hiking at Battelle Memorial Park along the Little Darby. Wandered down an uncharted path eventually ending up, unbeknownst to them until later, in open hunting fields. Yikes!!

Called the Lane Ave. Cord Camera around 1030am to make sure they got my online order and to see if it might be ready. Got some clown named Rollie. He was a trip. Gave me the run around telling me that their processing machine was down but that they’d definitely have my order done by 5pm. Uh, OK.

Come lunch time, I ran a Xmas related errand, making yet another visit to Target, then later a stop at Kohl's clear on the other side of Hilliard. During my time drive to and from, it poured buckets of rain. Sadly, all this rain is getting wasted. If only it were below freezing, we’d have a good foot of snow on the ground. Felt a sense of relief to get so many Xmas tasks done during lunch. Just a blink of an eye ago, it seemed we had all sorts of time to get these things done, but then all of the sudden, the time is now! Yikes!

Arrived back at the office near 2pm for more work related fun. Just like the morning, it was an easy afternoon. I called Cord again at 445pm to see if my pics were ready for pick-up. Talked with Rollie again. Same song and dance only this time telling me that their processing machine was still down. I had a number of questions, including why they didn't simply process my order out of another Cord store close by. Lord knows there are many. With no good answers, I asked to speak to a manager. The next guy up wasn't a manager, but instead the tech on site to repair the processing machine. He was brighter, more sensible than Rollie seemed, but still had little in the way of when I might get my same-day photos. I insisted on talking to a manager.

Soon Phil was on the phone. He said he was in fact the store manager and went on to share their misfortune. Assured me that they'd have their machine up and working soon and likely have my order printed up yet that evening. Worst case being that they wouldn't be available for pick-up Tuesday at opening (10am). What I don't like is that they advertise 1 hour photo finishing but that is NOT guaranteed and also without repercussions. He promised to call me at home that evening when ready. For the hassle, I felt they should do the processing for half price. In all likelihood, I'll be going elsewhere next time. No longer does it seem that Cord has the dominance and expertise they once enjoyed.

Left for home near 5pm. Called Mindy in route to home. Said she was looking forward to a quiet evening at home with just me and the kids. Got home around 530pm. Forgot to mention that we had a pork roast cooking in the crock-pot all afternoon. Smelt terrific. Mindy dished up dinner while I unpacked and rinsed my lunch containers. While dishing up dinner, Mindy mentioned that while she was looking forward to a quiet evening at home, she had told teacher pal Keri that she would come care for young son, Sawyer, while she and Kevin sat at Children's hospital with their 3 year old Garrett, who apparently sliced his big toe pretty good at daycare. She was waiting on a call back from Keri.

Dinner was delicious. Rarely is a pork roast not good. I had a small, 2nd helping of pork. just as we were finishing dinner, Keri called taking Mindy up on her offer to come get Sawyer at Children's. Apparently the wait was going to be really long. As I understood it, as much as a 4-5 hour wait. Yikes! Jacob elected to ride with Mindy to go meet Kevin at Children's Hospital and pick-up Sawyer.

They hadn't been gone five minutes when my phone rang, It was Phil from Cord telling me that my photos were ready. Bella wanted to stay home while I ran to Cord on Lane Ave. I called Mindy to measure her opinion. She said she'd rather Bella go with. Agreed. Sorry, Bella, but you've got to ride along. She didn't fuss. I think she appreciated that I asked Mindy. I told her we'd be back home in about 30 minutes.

We headed out less than five minutes later. Took about 12 minutes to get there. Located at the intersection of Lane and North Star. They had my package of photos waiting on the counter. I wasn't in the store even a minute. I thanked Phil for keeping his word and shook his hand. Bella and I headed for home. All totaled, we were out 25 minutes.

I was very surprised to find Mindy & Jacob already back home with baby Sawyer. Of course they were fussing over him like a new puppy. Surprisingly, Jacob loves babies, always has. He was fantastic with both Landon and Olivia, too. Must get it from his momma. Innate, I guess.

Bella fussed over Sawyer some too, but nearly as much as Jacob. Even before dinner, Bella asked Mindy about her siblings back in Guatemala. Wanted to know if she was the oldest, youngest, or middle. Also asked if there was a way to get in touch with any of them. I appreciate her curiosity. Mindy was pretty straight forward, but seemed to quickly dismissed the notion of being able to find siblings. My guess is that if we tried hard enough we likely could, but then there's the corrupt/criminal element that we wouldn't want to invite into our lives that needs to be considered as well.

While Mindy and Bella gave Sawyer a bath, I tuned into MNF and did a little reading. And it should come as no surprise that I fell asleep while doing so. I woke when Mindy, Sawyer, and Bella came back downstairs. Mindy held him close for about half an hour, never once did he make even a peep - a very content baby. She eventually slipped him into his car seat/rocker where he fell asleep. Through late evening, Mindy & Keri exchanged texts, Keri sharing where they stood in the emergency room queue. I headed for bed around 1020pm, and they still were waiting. How painful is that? I tuned into MNF from bed, catching maybe another 10 minutes before giving way to blissful sleep.