Brown Stain on my Psyche

It was somewhere close to 730am when I rolled out of bed and headed downstairs. A far better start weatherwise, the sky was clear and the sun already up over the rooftops. It was chilly though, only 51 degrees. Wasn't supposed to get much warmer than about 65 by midafternoon either.

Enjoyed coffee and internet for a little more than an hour before putting it aside and preparing for a run. Mindy was up just ahead of that and briefly stepped out on the deck where the chill soon swayed her back in. I took the pug on a walk so she could relieve herself even though she had some loose time already out back. Tends not to go as easily when left free, at least not in our own yard. I suppose that's because it lacks the scent of other dogs.

Headed off on my run around 930am and did the usual 3 miles. By the time I was back, Mindy was preparing Jacob another breakfast burrito all the while he complained about having to help her prepare for her school party. I wasn't too thrilled about the party either, and event she promised her 1st graders at the end of last school year if they did their summer reading. The result was a party at our house. I had talked about golfing but wasn't fully committed to the idea, and hadn't made any real plans with anyone else. Jacob, meanwhile, continued to needle Mindy about her party to the point where she took his cell phone for being so rude. Later, in private, she let me know that she didn't appreciate my comments about it either. She felt that perhaps Jacob felt that a free pass to share his opinion. Perhaps.

After my run I checked the NFL TV scheduled and a was a little surprised to find that the Vikings/Browns game would in fact be televised locally on CBS. Given the week the Browns had, trading away their top running back and then declaring their 3rd string QB as this weekend's starter, the game had all the makings of a trap game for the Vikings. And if any team is adept at making lowlife players look like all pro's it's the Vikings. Still, I figured to watch at least some of the game. Jacob was out back practicing soccer with the goal he bought with his own money a year or so ago. I headed out to help him practice serving as the goalie. I had to remind him not to kick it as hard as he can. Evan eventually crept over to play with us too. We spent maybe 30 minutes practicing before Jacob called it quits.

Because Mindy was busy prepping for her party, she asked if I would be so kind to take Jacob to his noon soccer practice. Sure, dear. Jacob and I left around 1140am. Fairly easy drive save for the usual back-up at Hilliard Rome Rd. Back home by 1210pm, Mindy reminded me that she wanted the cornhole boards set-up. As it was, they were stowed away in the shed. I headed out to fetch 'em and set 'em up. Still not sure what came of our missing purple bean bag. We've never left home with the boards. I guessed that Bella might've tossed one in the pond last go round.

Leading up the NFL kickoff, I was feeling a little nappy. Unfortunately, Mindy's party was set to start at 1pm, too. Taking a nap seemed out of the question, though I briefly toyed with sneaking away upstairs. I never did. The Viking game had just kicked off when the first party kid arrived. Mindy handled the door greetings. I was a little surprised that most of the kids didn't drive themselves. Instead, they were brought by their mothers. A couple of the mothers opted to stay. Thankfully, Mindy moved the party outdoors where the kids could play in the yard and in the tree house while I watched the Viking game inside. Like they have in each of their first three games, the Vikings scored a touchdown on their initial drive. Some purple fans I know were predicting a Viking blowout. Not me. I was worried. Sure enough, we allowed the Browns to score on their next possession and then later allowed then to take the lead. We were making their 3rd string QB look like Peyton Manning.

Thankfully, 2pm was fast approaching. I had to leave to go after Jacob at soccer practice. The diversion would do me well. I listened to ESPN radio on the drive to and fro. The game was soon tied at 14-14. However, by the time that Jacob and I were back at home it was near the half and the Vikings were behind 24-14. I guess I missed a lot of high drama - fake field goal and fake punt by the Browns, both of which were successful and lead to more points. Of course! The Vikings managed to recover a muffed punt on the Browns 26 yard line just before half but thanks to some poor coaching and poor execution they squandered the opportunity not scoring a single point. I have to say the Vikings look sloppy and slow in every facet of the game, like they're not prepared. Shame shame!

Mindy's party was set to run until 4pm. In all, there were only 5 kids that showed up, and as I shared earlier, two of the mothers stuck around for the duration. One of the girls, Grace, came inside to hang with me, Jacob and neighbor Jake who were watching the football game. The boys got a kick out of Grace's outlandish comments. Said she had a crush on Jacob. Grace also struggle with her pronouns, more often than not referring to Mindy as Jacob's daughter. What?

By 405pm all of the kids were gone. The Vikings game was just about over too. And somehow or another, they had managed to take a slim 27-24 lead with three minutes to go. Trust me, though. No one in the Vikings stadium was feeling secure with a 3 point lead and the ball in the opponents hands. We held them in check for one possession but after another 3 and out we punted again leaving them exceptional field possession. Long story short, we let them drive down the field and score the go ahead touchdown with only 51 seconds remaining. I guess the silver lining would be that at least we had a chance to get the ball one more time. But 51 seconds proved not enough time for the Vikings to drive for the winning score. Another loss. 0-3. bummer!

To relax, I walked away from the TV and headed to the livingroom where I picked up my latest book. I spent the rest of the evening reading, determined to finish the book if it all possible. Over the next 4 hours I read the last 70-80 pages covering the final three mystics: Anne Hutchinson, Baal Shem Tov, and finally Tagore. The only real break a took was about 30 minutes to enjoy some leftover lasagna. I read until about 830pm. By then Mindy had already headed for bed. Bella, however was still bouncing around the house. Twice she came downstairs confounded with questions about our solar system, the universe, and how it all works. She was very concerned what might happen if all the planets were aligned with the sun.

We used a basket of decorative balls Mindy & I keep on the leaning shelves to make a model of the solar system on the floor. I could tell that she didn't quite get the alignment even after she said she did. She headed back upstairs but returned again 5-10 minutes later to ask similar questions and to get out the decorative planets once again. :) I asked if it might help if we used Google to look at images of the universe. She agreed. She had lots of questions about what makes a planet a planet as opposed to a star. She also wanted to know what would happen if a black hole appeared in our solar system, but cautioned me to stop if it might scare her. :) I figured a lesson in understanding the basics in where we as Earthlings stand in the universe might be helpful. Showed her pics of the solar system, then the milky way, then the universe with many other galaxies. Actually, though, that was quite a bit for her young mind to grapple with. Still, I am impressed that she's so inquisitive about it. A thinker.

Mindy came partially down the stairs while we were looking at Google images of the universe and declared it Bella's bedtime. Actually, i was getting really tired too, so I was happy to head to bed. But like a lot of recent nights, once I hopped into bed I just couldn't sleep. Instead, I got a second wind that I just couldn't shake. After 30 minutes or so I slipped out of bed and headed back downstairs. I ended up watching the rest of the SNF game between the Steelers and Bears. Steelers lost. They're now 0-3 too, just like the hapless Vikings. And it just so happens that we play each other next Sunday in London. After the game, I headed for bed. I didn't fall immediately asleep but it didn't take that long either.