Marching on Monday

I like to get 7.5-8 hours of sleep each night. To that end, you might say that I was a little short slept come Monday morning after getting no more than 6 hours. At least for the present moment, I woke near 6am feeling no worse for the wear. Downstairs a few minutes later, I stepped out on the deck to drink in the morning air. As expected, it was cool & clear. Lots of stars overhead along with a waning half moon almost directly overhead.

I failed to prep coffee the night before, so I made that a priority ahead of exercise. Took just a couple minutes. Next up sit-ups. Did 50. Next up, windmills. Did 20 each arm - 10 forward, 10 backwards. Next and last, push-ups. Did 50. Always the toughest, most grueling. And always happy once they're behind me. Coffee was ready near 620am. Delivered Mindy a cup then headed downstairs to relax and play ahead of a run.

Spent less time than usual on the internet in part because I was up late and saw all the headlines. Stretched and meditated between 630-640am. Readied for a run next, or about the same time that Jacob was in the kitchen having breakfast. It was only about 45 degrees. I planned to wear long running pants, a long sleeved shirt as well as a jacket. This would mark the first such return to what I'll call early winter or cold weather attire.

Noticed our recycling can had already been emptied. Jacob and company were just boarding the bus when I headed out the door. I cut in front of the bus as I set out on my warm-up lap. Ran the full 4.1 miles and by the half way point I had to unzip my jacket a little to let some cool air in. Otherwise, I was comfortable throughout the entire run.

Mindy was gone by the time I made it back home. I expected that. Said our goodbyes just before I left. Bella was at the front door drawing faces in the dew on the glass. It was 735am. I quickly leashed up the pug and headed out for a walk. Back home by 742am. I nuked my eggs for 12 seconds then poured a glass of OJ. Ate breakfast over the next 5 minutes. Enjoyed some red fruit: watermelon and raspberries too.

Noticed a tub of veggies on the island. Thanks Mindy. I'd be working out o the Hilliard office for the first time in 10 days. Was much looking forward to it. Given the hour, I didn't plan to shower until after seeing Bella onto the school bus. We headed out at 752am, which is beginning to feel like that's too early. The bus didn't show up until 805am. We may move our head out time to 8am and see how that works.

I quickly threw together a few more items for my lunch then headed up for a shower. I scheduled a dental appointment for 130pm so I didn't figure to eat lunch until after that. Was showered and ready to head into work by 835am. It was supposed to be beautiful. Decided to drive the BM'er. If not then, when? Always feels good pulling away with the top down. Nice drive into the office. I wore a thin jacket since it was still only about 50 degrees.

Arrived at work near 850am. Once I was settled I walked over to see if my boss was in. Yep, fresh back from a week's vacation. I didn't want to unload all my problems on him, but needed to share a few things just the same. We talked about his vacation initially. I then shared a few hot items from my plate. Don't want him getting blindsided.

Spent the rest of the morning ahead of 1230pm on a weekly call and then addressing some hot issues. Left for my dental appointment near 1pm allowing myself 30 minutes to get there, though it rarely takes more than 15-20 to get there from the office. Brought my laptop and lunch along too and stowed them in the trunk per policy. Waited in the lobby less than 5 minutes before being ushered back.

They had an IT guy onsite to fix a networking issue. Couldn't view X-rays from the chair/room I was in. And given my complaint of extreme sensitivity, an X-ray was necessary. Dr March had to view my X-ray from another room. Said there was nothing obvious - no cavities, etc. Had to resort to the cold swab & cold air test. And while I know well where I feel the zing, I realize that the source can be somewhat removed from where it seems to manifest. My response to the cold swab test was normal on the few teeth in the area. The cold air test proved a bit better at narrowing it down. Dr March did a good job trying to pinpoint the actual spot. By testing and my reaction, he was certain he found the sensitive spot - a very minor dent -not a cavity - on the side of the left upper incisor.

Actually, I was a little skeptical but hey I let him do his thing. Took about 10 minutes to put this sealer stuff on it. Seemed to work well. He retested with cold air after. Sensation gone. Now about 2pm, I was soon on my way home. Yes, that's right. Figured instead of heading back to the office, I would instead head home and finish out my work day there. Doing so would be most comforting as well as solving the quandary created by Mindy having curriculum night at school. She planned to stick around as opposed to coming home and then turning around an hour later and heading right back. That would leave the kids home alone until I got home from the office. This way I would be there when they get off the bus.

Got home shortly after 2pm. Booted up my laptop then enjoyed my packed lunch of veggies and cheese. Jacob was home seemingly before I had much time to accomplish much of anything. Joined a brief call around 315pm then spent the rest of my work day digging into a technical problem I've been dealing with for a couple months now. It was after 5pm the next time I looked at the time. Where had the day gone? By then Bella was home from school, had finished her homework, and was out to play with friends. She tried to get me to agree to letting her play first and finish her homework later, but that just isn't how we fly. I asked what time she wanted to eat dinner. We agreed on 545pm.

Bella asked that I warm leftover Poppa John's pizza on the stone. Jacob was even easier. He asked for cold pizza. I made myself a bowl of leftover roast beef and potatoes. It was a week old but still pretty tasty. After dinner both kids headed back outside to play. I'm pretty sure that Mindy was home around 715pm. It was still daylight. That I know for sure.

Shortly after Mindy got home i retreated to the family room and tuned the TV to the Reds/Mets games, one of the few I've actually watched this entire baseball season. I fell asleep before the 1st inning was over. I woke again around 830pm and headed up to bed. Mindy was in bed but playing on her phone and watching TV. She had her nightstand light on too. I didn't mind. Laid on my stomach and fell right back asleep.