A Rainy Memorial Day

I heard Mindy get up to greet the boys, who Lindsey dropped off on her way to work. She came back to bed a minute or two later. I never did return to sleep, and a few minutes later when I decided it was time to roll out of bed, I was concerned that I might pay a heavy price – think horrible hangover - for all the beer and Jack Daniels shots consumed the night before. It was 820am, and surprisingly, I felt fine, though perhaps just a tad sleepy. Not wanting to risk jostling one loose, I moved slowly while brushing my teeth and gathering up my running clothes.

The boys were watching TV quietly from the sofa while I prepped coffee. I knew the question was coming. “Papa, can we have some coffee? “ I didn’t immediately promise them any, but ended up making them some the same way I typically do, with far more chocolate milk, whipped cream and caramel than actual coffee. Landon asked for peanut butter toast, too. Rocky wanted nothing else.

Not only was the weather gloomy, but it started raining lightly too. The day wasn’t supposed to be a wash. The rain was expected to diminish as the day wore on. The high was forecasted to only reach a balmy 70 degrees. At the time it was still in the low 50s, and with a chilly, light rain. A little later when Landon and I walked Eiknarf, we both were cold.

Mindy slept in until almost 10am. Once she was up, I readied and left for a run. It was raining when I left the house and rained on and off through the entire run. It brought back memories of Memorial Day’s past, when it seemed we couldn’t buy a summery forecast for the holiday. The last few, however, have been quite pleasant.

Shortly after returning from my 3 mile Sunday run, I lengthened the chain on our front porch hanging basket and bent the brace hook as far away from the garage wall as possible. Looked a lot more pleasing to the eye after I finished, but still not perfect. Inside, both boys wanted more peanut butter toast. I suggested that we head out and toss the baseball, something I knew Rocky likes. By then the sky was showing signs of brightening.

I think it was near noon when Jimaken dropped Jacob off at home. That surprised me a little. Rocky invited Jacob out to throw the baseball with us. Jacob was still in a funk and only told Rocky that he was annoying. The three of us, me, Rocky, Landon headed out in the neighbors back yard to throw the baseball. It was fun. Soon the sun broke through the clouds and mostly blue skies appeared. Hoorah!

Rocky soon ran off to see if Evan was home. Those two play well together. Landon and I kept tossing the baseball. We kept throwing it back and forth until Landon caught one with his head. I think it’s the first time I’ve seen him cry. The crying didn’t last long, and there didn’t appear to be a bump or contusion of any sort.

After baseball I relaxed inside for a while. I was feeling a little sleepy, no doubt a byproduct of Sunday evening’s antics. Sometime near 1pm, Mindy ran to pick-up Joe and Rick so they could get their car. Said she was going to stop at McDonalds for some chicken nuggets on the way back, too. While she was away, I napped on the sofa. Felt heavenly.

I woke 45 minutes later to a rush of noise. Not only was Mindy back home with Joe & Rick, but all the kids were in the kitchen for some chicken nuggets 9our kids, the neighbors kids). Joe and Rick suggested I was faking my nap. I got up and joined the others for some banter. Those two looked no worse for the wear whereas I looked like crap. Oh to be in my 20s again!

I nibbled on a few nuggets and fries and then had a bite of Mindy’s Big Mac before heading upstairs for a shower. Joe & Rick left to go complete Joe’s home move.

A shower was just what the doctor ordered. Felt fantastic. After a shower I headed out back again, only this time to hot a few golf balls. Sadly, given the ugly start to the day’s weather, that would be the extent of my golfing for the weekend. Haven’t been out even once yet this season. Shame shame!

Unbeknownst to me, Kenny had the same idea, and was practicing his swing, too, only he was hitting light weight (felt like Styrofoam) balls. We joked around a little. Mindy soon came out and walked over to chat with Chrissy. Landon wanted to hit some golf balls, and eventually walked over to Kenny’s where he fetched him another club. He played over there for at least an hour while I rested on the deck. Some grandpa I am.

Mindy kept working on Lindsey’s laundry. And at some point asked how I felt about burgers, brats and dogs for dinner. Fine with me. I was feeling a bit blue. I am sure it was a combination of too much partying, the less than favorable weather, and the end of the three-day weekend. Late afternoon I headed to the livingroom where I strummed the guitar then napped from the recliner. Mindy had earlier asked me to grill, but when I woke, she was already doing it. About the time all the fixins were ready she asked if I was ready to head to the neighbors. What? That’s right! Mindy strikes again. Apparently she made arrangements for all of us to cookout and eat with the neighbors but failed to share the plan with me.
I wasn’t happy that she didn’t bother asking/sharing her idea with me, but was feeling too lethargic to press the issue. I walked down to the neighbors carrying a tray full of con on the cob.

Kenny grilled burgers and steaks. The O’Connell’s brought twice baked potatoes that looked incredible, and Chrissy made green bean casserole. Dinner was delicious. I had a thick burger. And unlike the week before, this one was grilled to perfection (pink inside). While finishing the last bite or two of my burger, I bit into something incredibly hard with my right, lower molar. Eventually pulled a piece of bone from the burger. I did a quick check of the area with my tongue. No apparent damage. A few seconds later, I felt a corner from that molar come loose. Not good, a broken tooth. Dammit! I went to the bathroom to inspect. Yep, one of the lingual busted off the furthest molar. The good news was twofold. It didn’t hurt and I had a dental appointment already set-up for Wednesday AM.

We didn’t stay around too long after dinner. I apologized then excused myself for becoming really sleepy after eating then headed for home. Mindy and the kids followed.

Lindsey was at the house gathering her laundry. Apologized for not bringing her insurance money. Said she’d bring it the following day. Mindy helped her carry the laundry out. I took another nap from the recliner sleeping for as much as an hour. I wasn’t up from my nap for more than 15 minutes when Mindy said she was heading to bed. I joined her a few minutes later, but by then my mind was racing with work stuff and I just couldn’t sleep. I ended up getting up from bed and heading back downstairs for a few. Stayed up until 1015pm.