Dinner with Todd

I didn’t sleep that well, especially the last couple hours. Eiknarf was wedged against my body and was snoring like an old man. It was a little after 730am when I slipped out of bed. Quietly, I brushed my teeth then grabbed my running clothes. Mindy and the pug were still out cold.

It was a satisfying feeling to have a couple hours of leisure time at my dispense. I made coffee then played on the internet. It was sunny outside and the temperature quickly approaching 40 degrees. I was looking forward to my run. We needed to leave for Bella’s gymnastics event around 1015am. We talked about skiing afterwards but we didn’t have it as a high priority after our peeps shared that they’d all be gone by the time we got there.

I headed out for a run just ahead of 9am. I don’t think Mindy was up until I was out for my run. She was in the shower by the time I returned. Like most Saturday’s, I ran 3 miles. It was a lovely run. A little chilly but very spring-like. I took a shower soon after my return. Both Mindy & I wore our Solitude t-shirts.

As expected, Jimaken and the kids showed up near 10am. Mindy requested that so she could do Bella’s hair for the meet. They’re very picky about the hair, nails, etc. We needed to leave by 1015am in order for Bella to make the 1030am arrival time. We had an address and knew within a few blocks where the venue was, but none of us were 100% certain. We left the house near 1015am taking Trabue to Cambridge to Waltham, to Kinnear. We headed north on Kenny Rd. which turned out to be incorrect. We had to turn around and head south of Kinnear.

The gym is located far back off the beaten path in a warehouse area. Holy smoke! There was nowhere close to park. There were literally hundreds of car, maybe thousands. I dropped Bella & Mindy at the door then went to find parking. Jacob and Jimaken parked far out by Kenny Rd. I passed them on my way back out to park.

Finally inside, I couldn’t find Mindy & Bella anywhere. Heck, it was a sea of people. Surprisingly, the majority of the gym was taken up by what appeared to be a high school volleyball tournament. The gymnastics event was sandwiched into a small corner of the otherwise enormous gymnasium. I final located Mindy, who was seeking out the Gotta Flip Twisters folks to see if she and I needed to go on duty (we volunteered to be spotters on the trampoline from 11am-1pm). After 10 minutes or so we learned that our services were no longer needed. Sweet!

There was standing room only. We soon ran into Connie & Jordan McVey, who we knew would be there cheering on Lane in his first competition. In all the chaos, we soon learned that the overall meet was running well over an hour behind schedule. Great! Bella was originally scheduled to do her first completion at 11am. Turned out, she didn’t do the double mini until almost 1pm. Jacob was beside himself with boredom and wasn’t afraid to share it. I suggested he checkout the women’s volleyball tournament, which was really fun to watch. I also sheepishly suggested scout the gym for pretty girls.
Mindy & I went up the glass encased overlook for about 30-40 minutes, which provided a birds eye view of the entire competition. From above, we searched and searched for Bella but couldn’t see her anywhere. We finally vacated the mezzanine and returned the sweaty floor. We finally located Bella behind a bunch of other kids readying themselves to compete.

Bella did best on the double mini earning herself a 2nd place medal. She missed 1st place by the slimmest of margins. That, as it turned out, was her best event of the afternoon. She earned 4th or 5th on the trampoline and then 9th on the tumbling mat. By then all of us, Mindy included were more than ready to go. It was after 330pm, a full 2.5 hours behind schedule. I’d eaten a power bar earlier but refused to succumb to the concession stand food, hot dogs, chips, nachos, etc.

Because it was a Jimaken weekend, the kids left with Jim. Mindy were right behind them walking out to our waiting cars. Man, was it ever pretty out - mid 50s and sunny. Tossed a snowball or two Jacob’s way. Mindy and I headed for home winding our way through Arlington. Given the hour, we didn’t want to stop for lunch since we planned on grilling filets for dinner. I suggested we simply have a snack at home.

Felt good to get home. Mindy made herself a sandwich, I believe ham & turkey, while I snacked on Triscuits, cheese and hot pepper rings. It was already 4pm. Man, where had the day gone?

Just the day before, Mindy suggested we celebrate both Ashley’s and Landon’s birthday’s at Barley’s on Sunday afternoon. She also suggested we take a birthday cake with us. However, as it stood, we hadn’t even bought Landon's gift, let alone a birthday cake. After our snacks, I suggested that Mindy and I go shopping to get both a gift and a cake. Oddly enough, Mindy quickly, almost nervously, chirped that she wanted/needed to run some personal errands, including a stop to fill a prescription and then a stop at the bank. That seemed to come out of nowhere and it was abundantly clear that she didn’t want me to come along. Alrighty! She put a couple potatoes in the oven then left.

While she was away, I played on the computer and then did some reading. About 25 minutes later Mindy celled. I don't always answer but figured I'd better this time. I thought she might be calling to share that she was going to stop for Landon’s gift while out running errands. Nope. Instead, she shared that nephew Joe-Joe called and invited her to meet him at Memories in Grove City. She asked if that was OK. Uh, O.K., sure, though I thought we were supposed to have a quiet evening at home with dinner and possibly a movie. I asked if that was the real plan from the outset. She said not, but I still wondered otherwise. Said she wouldn’t be long and asked if I wanted to join her/them. Nah. I used the time to rest and relax in the quiet. She called again at 550pm but I was away from my phone. She was home 10-15 minutes later.

Upon Mindy's return, she seemed happy, spirits up and talking a mile a minute. She asked if I wanted to go shopping for Landon’s b-day gift. I didn’t. By then I had already poured myself a beer and was determined to stay home and relax. She also shared the drama surrounding picking up her prescription and then some chatter about Joe-Joe. Something about the way the whole thing went down didn’t seem entirely on the up & up. For one, the timing seemed a bit too coincidental for Joe-Joe to call just after she left to run errands. I gnawed on it for a while, ultimately choosing not to say anything.

Around 7pm Mindy asked if she should start the grill. Why not? I finished some reading as well as my 1st beer. By the time I headed out to grill, she had picked up several of the kids winter toys still strewn about the yard after Wednesday’s big dump.

While I grilled the filet mignon, Mindy cut up veggies: sweet peppers, carrots, and celery. Didn’t take long to grill the steaks. Used a flash light to make sure they were cooked well enough inside (very thick filets). Cook to perfection! Very, very juicy and dark pink in the middle. Just they was we both like them.
We weren’t 5 minutes into our dinner when I received a couple texts, one from Darwin and one from Bob Imber. Darwin was curious of our evening plans. I shared our intention of staying home, but then later responded that he was welcome to stop by. Bob Imber asked that I check out the Palladia channel. It was Daryl Hall, as well as several others at Todd Rungren’s place in Kaui, Hawaii. They jammed, had a pig roast, and a party. Looked like paradise. What an awesome program! Mindy liked it too.

Tom Clark also sent a text to Mindy sharing that he was at Barley’s. She told him that we intended to stay at home but extended an invite for him to stop over. He quickly asked if he could bring a couple friends along. When Mindy asked for my input, I declined for not feeling up to entertaining a house full. Besides, I was already comfortably in my PJs. Mindy agreed and responded accordingly.

After dinner, I poured a Jack & Coke. I was content to simply lounge around at home after good meal alone with my wife. After the Todd thing we kept the TV tuned to Palladia watching another unusual pairing of artist, this time Sting and Vince Gill. That was cool, too. Then later, we watched one with the Avett Bros & Randy Travis. All totaled, I drank 3 Jack & Cokes. I had a nice mellow buzz.

We enjoyed a nice evening watching Palladia. I think it was near 1030pm when we headed for bed. I laid there with Mindy’s head on my chest for a while and then just holding hands. But like a lot of nights, I just couldn’t sleep. I rolled out of bed and headed downstairs to watch SNL. I also poured yet another Jack & Coke. Yum!