Bodhi & Wings

 

demani - Swahili

If I was to be true to my plan, I needed to be up much earlier than I have most other days of late. As such, I was up and out of bed at 544am. I could've slept longer but felt pretty good. Downstairs, I glanced out back at the weather. It was clear but cold, just how cold I wasn't sure. I found out later that it was a chilly 28 degrees. To the living room for exercise.

I completed sit-ups, windmills, and push-ups over the next 10 minutes or so. Just before 6am I poured some coffee then headed to my desk where I checked the headlines and weather forecast. I played around online until 620am when I poured and delivered Mindy's coffee. She asked that I bump up the heat a couple degrees. Our visit was brief. soon I was back downstairs where I bumped up the heat then topped off my coffee.

Already 625am, I did meditation and stretching next. Both went well. Jacob was downstairs for breakfast a few minutes later where he enjoyed some chocolate milk and a nuitri-grain bar. I headed out the door for my run well ahead of he and his bus peeps gathering across the street at the middle school bus stop. Felt good to be getting an early start. Already the benefits realized from the fall back time change are fading. I wouldn't call it completely dark at 645am, but in another week it will be.

I wore two loose upper layers which proved ideal for the chilly winter-like temp. Of course, I wore hand and ear covers too. I ran the full 4.1 miles in just under 40 minutes. Was fully daylight at about the three mile mark. Noticed a handful of homes already adorned in Xmas decorations. Time's moving fast this year.

Mindy was still at the house but the Pilot already warming in the driveway. Before enjoying the cheesy scrambled eggs Mindy cooked, I leashed up the pug and headed out for our walk. I was back in time to witness Bella taking her meds and to say goodbye to Mindy, who left around 730am.

Spent a good 10 minutes at the breakfast table eating my eggs and then watching Bella enjoy the last of her powder sugar donuts. She couldn't finish the last one she started. While she was eating breakfast, she got a text on her Kindle from Makayla sharing that she was moved to a higher math group. At the time, Bella hadn't said a word to Makayla or anyone else about her own move. While she was upstairs brushing up, I put it back in the box with the one remaining hole donut. Like most days, I reminded her to do a good job on her hair and teeth.

Bella and I headed out at 755am. She did a decent job on her hair and teeth and also remembered to feed the pug. The bus didn't show up until 805am. It was a cold 10 minute wait, standing still and all. Headed for home as soon as the bus pulled away. Inside, I poured more coffee then started some music. I didn't hang out long, however. I was off to the shower by 815am and downstairs again ready to go by 830am. I started the Accord and let it warm for a few minutes while I made sure I had everything I needed in my backpack. Out the door and on the road just ahead of 840am.

From the Wilson Rd bridge looking over 70/670E, traffic looked tight but was still moving. I decided to take my chances. Worked in my favor. Once I merged far left for 670 it was smooth going all the way to Easton/New Albany. Split my time between listening to ESPN & Xmas music. Lots of talk on ESPN about a sack and subsequent fine. I hoped to see the video clip myself and then form an opinion. However, it sounded like the overwhelming majority felt it a serious injustice to the defender in question. Made excellent time, in fact. Parked at 9am sharp.

Was inside, logged on, and ready to go by 910am, or 20 minutes ahead of our recurring Wednesday morning call. Digging through email, I saw that our call was canceled. All that hurrying for nothing. Well, at least I was there, ready and prepared. I had plenty to do and take care of. I used my time wisely knocking out several to-dos ahead of 1pm, when I thought I might head out to Macy's for a mini shopping spree. However, once 1pm came around, I opted to maintain the momentum I had going and work straight through the day. I did walk over to the fridge to retrieve the cheese and carrots I'd left there last Wednesday. They were still nice and fresh.

Plowed straight through the rest of my day. And in so doing, I planned to leave early. Come 4pm I wrapped up for the day and headed for home. I called Mindy was I was safely merged onto to 270. She was in the checkout line at Kroger and asked if she could call me back. Thought about calling my mom but didn't. Mindy phoned about 7 or 8 minutes later once she had the Pilot loaded with groceries and was on her way home. Like the afternoon before, I was out front of most of the rush hour traffic. Didn't hit any slowdowns whatsoever between Dublin and home. Exited at Roberts Rd while still chatting with Mindy. She was about 5 minutes behind me. Just before we ended our call, she told me that she'd already forewarned the children to be ready to come help carry in the groceries.

My arrival home got their juices flowing, and a few minutes later when Mindy pulled up with groceries, they were already in their shoes and coats ready to help. Mindy was expressly thankful for all the help. She barely had to carry in anything. While she and Bella put groceries away, I booted up my laptop so I could close out my work day.
Mindy had the groceries put away by 5pm and a couple minutes later Jimaken was there to pick-up the kids.

Jimaken left with the kids around 515pm. Mindy and I planned to do date night at CBC. Said she'd been looking forward to it all day. We freshened up then headed out, leaving the house earlier than most other Wednesdays. Guessing we were there by 545pm. It was still daylight. The main parking lot as well as the restaurant and bar were full. However, like most evenings at CBC, it wasn't more than five minutes later when two stools cleared. We swooped in for the kill.

Mindy opted for their Winter Warmer, which had to just hit the taps. I'm not feeling the spicy holiday beers this year so I went with my all time favorite, Bodhi. Yum! Kate and Vince were working the bar. Chatted some with both, though a bit more with Kate. She's so daggone friendly. Mindy wanted some pretzel bread, but I suggested she wait and see if Vince brings it without us asking. I think it makes him feel good when he knows what we want and brings it without us having to ask/order. A few minutes later he stopped by to ask if we wanted some. Yes, please!

We ordered food around 630pm. Mindy went with the special which was flounder and shrimp over potatoes, served with cooked spinach and another veggie medley. I went with a 2nd Bodhi and wings, extra crispy. Mindy ordered a 2nd Winter Warmer and then asked for some regular bread, too. She loves the stuff. While waiting on our dinner, Mindy struck up a conversation with Aubrey and her boyfriend, Matt who is the owner's son and also a chef at CBC. Aubrey is a server. Somehow or another Mindy learned that Aubrey is pregnant. They talked about it at length. Aubrey shared how excited they are. She's actually still in college working on her engineering degree. Said she'll have two semesters remaining once the baby's born. I'm fairly certain I heard her say she plans to finish, which Mindy and I strongly encouraged her to do.

Mindy's special was really tasty. I had a bite or two. The wings were decent too, but I could only eat four after enjoying two of the pretzel bread sticks earlier. After dinner and two beers we asked for our check. It was only 730pm. Mindy picked this one up. I drove home. We got home well ahead of the kids. As such, we both had time to change into our PJs and relax a little. The kids got home around 8pm. Took Bella a while to gather her belongings from her dad's car, Turns out, she couldn't find her new stylist for her Kindle.

We offered Jacob our leftovers but he pushed them aside. That was a bit unusual. He must have filled up at Jimaken's place. After a little family time, Jacob was off to his room as usual. Bella, however, hung out with Mindy and I and watched a little TV. We ended up watching a couple rerun episodes of Modern Family between then and 9pm. At 9pm Mindy wanted to head to bed. Said we could watch something else from bed if I so desired. I was tired enough to go to bed, so I agreed. We ended up tuning into the Buckeye/American basketball game. And just like most other Buckeye basketball games I've seen the last couple of years, it was hard to watch. We were ahead but played poorly missing shot after shot. After a few minutes I could take it no more and turned the TV off. Fell asleep before 930pm.