Normalcy's Return

I was up at 535am feeling rested and ready to go. Amazing what 8 hours of sleep along with no alcoholic beverages the night before will do.  I was downstairs a few minutes later fully engaged in calisthenics. Perhaps the 5+ hour drive home, not real sure, but my neck and shoulder were stiff again too.

After exercise I poured some coffee then played on my PC for 25 minutes. Felt good to relax and play. Because neither Mindy nor the kids needed to be up, I didn’t wake them. I did meditation and a stretch near 645a. Dressed and left for a run around 7a. Ran the full 4.1 miles. My legs/feet might’ve been a tad tired but all in all in pretty good shape. The trash truck was by while I was off on my run.

Back at the house I pulled the trash can back to its resting place then headed in to start my breakfast. Fried three eggs despite Eiknarf still sleeping upstairs with Bella. I set her egg aside for later. After packing a light lunch I headed upstairs for a shower. I took coffee for Mindy as well.

I was showered and dressed by 820a. Mindy got up and joined me downstairs for a few minutes before I left for work. I asked about gas in the Accord after remembering that it was low before she took it to work last Friday. She shared that the low fuel light came on just before she arrived home on Friday. Oops! I was worried about needing to warm and defrost the car, let alone making it to the gas station. I had no choice but to warm the car as it was coated in frozen snow. I let it warm only long enough to scrape away the bulk of it before leaving for the office.

I left concerned about making it to the gas station. Out of the subdivision I opted for Thornton’s, which is a little further than Circle K but on my way. Aside from a lady driving ridiculously slow, there wasn’t any traffic. Move it, lady!

Felt a sense of relief as I pulled into Thornton’s and up to the pumps. Fiddled with my card before I realized that the pump I was at had a cash-only stickem’ on it. Dang it! I quickly pulled my car around to another pump other side of the island. Same damn thing! Are you kidding me? This never happens. A cursory glance around revealed the same sign hanging on every single pump. Damn it! Actually, I let a couple f bombs fly. What are the odds? Somebody somewhere had to be getting a kick out of all this.

I drove off back towards home and Circle K. I called Mindy along the way just in case I ran out of gas. Wanted her to be ready to help me. She didn’t immediately answer, and I was sure I was going to VM when she finally answered. She obviously found my predicament a bit more humorous than I did. She was in the middle of walking the pug, but offered to come after me should I need her.

I made it to Circle K for a fill-up. The car took 16.2 gallons for a 16 gallon tank. I had to be running on fumes! Off to work. I called Mindy again just to let her know that the crisis was averted. Arrived at the office near 9am.

Even though I was off for just one work day, it felt more like a week. Took a while it get back into the swing of things. In fact, it took almost the entire day. The word of the day was catch-up. Lucky for me, a regularly scheduled customer call got cancelled. That provided me a little breathing room.

The day went fast. By late afternoon I noticed that cloudy skies had given way to sunshine and most of the snow had melted. That’s what happens with spring snow - easy come easy go. Talked with Mindy mid-day. We talked mostly about how to address some of the issues we had with Jacob over the weekend.

I called Darwin around 4pm to remind him that I was taking Lane to gymnastics when picking up Bella. He shared that Lane was going at the same time as Bella this week – spring break hours. I offered that we would take and pick-up. He was at work at Home Depot. Suggested we call Connie to sort it out. I called Mindy real quick and asked her to call Connie.

I left the office near 5pm and called Mindy along the way. Said she left a message for Connie to call her back. Mindy was busy with dinner. We didn’t talk long. Arrived home by 515pm. Like everywhere else. almost all of the snow had melted away. And while it was chilly, it still felt a bit like spring with the late afternoon sunshine.

Mindy was busy at the stove whipping up some chicken concoction. The house was gleaming. She obviously spent some time cleaning during the day. She shared that she got a hold of Connie. Connie agreed to run the kids to gymnastics of we would do the pick-up. Said that would work far better for her. Connie planned to stop at Chipotle along the way. Mindy planned to send Bella with her own money.

Connie showed up around 535pm. Jacob was soon home from playing outside. The three of us sat for dinner around 545pm. Dinner was really good; penne pasta, chicken breast, tomato and spinach. Yum! Jacob was off to play with his friends again soon after dinner. Mindy helped with clean-up while I toiled with Jacob’s new Nerf basketball hoop. Mindy took over attaching the net while took over washing the dinner pans.

During dinner, Mindy mentioned that Joe-Joe was stopping by for a visit. He showed up just as we finished cleaning up the kitchen. He and Mindy partook in some wine. Had I not needed to go after the kids at gymnastics, I might’ve poured myself a pint of beer. Instead, I enjoyed only water. We visited with Joe until I needed to leave. It was 720p when I walked out the door. Made good time, arriving at 731pm. I wondered if the kids thought I forgot them.

Inside, it was everything but. Instead, they were playing around on the gym equipment. I soon learned that it was open gym – no real practice. I called for Bella and Lane to leave. Lane let me know that practice was until 8pm. Not wanting to disappoint, I agreed to wait while they continued playing. That made Bella happy too. As for Lane, he seemed to be doing more flirting than real gymnastics. Though I did see him do some amazing stuff on the mini-tramp. He’s a natural.

Come 8p, Kelly had to holler to the kids to stop. They were having fun. We left for home around 805pm. Joe-Joe was still at the house as we passed on our way to drop Lane. Bella asked that I drop her at home first. I could only laugh. Dropped Lane then headed for home. By then it was approaching 830pm. I was tired. Mindy and Joe were still working on a bottle of wine. Bella asked if she could have Kayla spend the night. After Mindy agreed, Bella gave Kayla a call. Sounded like it was a go. Mindy shared that Jacob was staying the night with one of his neighborhood friends. Cody, I think. Joe stuck around visiting until almost 10p. We’ll see him along with the rest of the family on Easter Sunday.

Mindy and I headed to be as soon as Joe pulled away. I was really tired.