#6

Mindy's numerous coughing spells woke me several times during the overnight, which lead to a so-so night of sleep. That, at least in part, is why I opted to sleep in until almost 6am. But once I was up, I felt just fine. Downstairs I experienced the weather from the deck. It was cloudy and cool, but still quite a bit warmer than last week's big chill. Without really checking the exact temp, I'm guessing that it was somewhere in the low 40s.

By the time I completed exercises, which included sit-ups, windmills, push-ups, and curls, it was 615am and time to deliver Mindy's coffee. She barely budged and looked bad. Obviously still sick. Back downstairs right away, I went for some coffee of my own. I didn't hear any stirring up stairs for another 20 minutes or so. Must've been hard getting out of bed.

I headed upstairs again, just before leaving on a run to bid Mindy farewell as the odds of her still being home when I got back were pretty slim. By then she was out of the shower and in the walk-in closet. I encouraged her to come out. :) Jacob and company were still at the bus stop as I passed on my warm-up lap. I greeted all of them in one fell swoop.

I ran the full 4.1 miles with relative ease. During my run I contemplated my work day and thought about the long overdue basement finishing project. I really need to get on that. I was really surprised to find Mindy still at home when I got back. I barely saw her though as I quickly leashed up the pug and headed out for our walk. She was still in the drive even as we made our way back up to the house after our brief walk. Wished her improved health. She reminded me that about taking Bella to a dental appointment after school which would put the kyboshes on any date night plans. But then again, she wasn't in any shape to be going out anyway.

Inside, Mindy left fried eggs waiting the microwave. There was one on the still on the stove for the pug, too. I treated and fed the pug while Bella readied upstairs. I didn't plan to shower until after bus time. Ahead of that, I fooled around a little with my camera trying to get the flash working, but once again with no such success. Bus time came around in a hurry. Bella and I headed out at 756am. I'm less than thrilled with Bella's school day prep for the last several weeks. Her hair always looks a wreck, especially the back, and she doesn't spend a lot of time brushing her teeth, either, which I am sure is the primary reason she needed to see Dr Scott later that afternoon.

The bus was relatively early. The pug and I were back at home by 806am. I checked work email then headed up for a shower. I took my time with my ready, not finding my way back downstairs until almost 840am. As such, I didn't get out of the house until 850am. Lucky for me, traffic was a non-issue. I made it across town by 912am. I hustled inside and got set-up prior to our standing 930am weekly call. I had just a couple minutes to spare.

The call lasted no more than 10 minutes - fast & efficient. I spent the lion's share of the morning and afternoon working on monthly reporting. Sandwiched in there too, were a couple other brief calls/meetings. The last call started at 215pm went until 4pm, but I was able to work in the background while being in a listen-only mode. Mindy called my work phone late afternoon. I'm pretty sure that she was on her way home from school. If nothing else, she sounded a lot better than she did the previous two days. Said she felt better, too. She shared details for Jacob's school's ski club program. There was a meeting that evening at the school for interested students and parents at 7pm. We planned to attend and discussed the possible logistics, which included the possibility of meeting there, depending on the time after she and Bella finished up with Dr Scott in Westerville.

I left the office for home near 415pm. For some reason, I'd forgotten that Jimaken was picking-up Jacob, since it was supposed to be date night. I had in mind that he and I could head to Barley's for dinner while we waited on Mindy & Bella. Mindy called me again just as I was leaving the customer's parking lot. She and Bella were in transit to Westerville via 270. We talked for a while, she reminding me that Jacob was leaving with his dad. Mindy's plan sounded complicated. She planned to drop Bella at Jimaken's place after the dental appointment and then meet me at Jacob's school for the ski club meeting. I suggested that she skip dropping Bella at Jimaken's. My thinking being that by the time her appointment was over and she fought rush hour traffic, there would be little quality time left for a daddy visit. She agreed to play it by ear. The way we left it, she was supposed to call me once they were done and she was on her way to the school.

I arrived home near 5pm where I had the house all to myself. I snacked on some cashews and peanuts and then played around online. The time went relatively fast. Mindy called when the appointment was over. They were stuck in traffic somewhere in Westerville. She didn't call again until 640pm, which was almost an hour later. She was only to Sawmill and 270. I asked what the plan was. By then, I shared that it made little sense for me to head to the school. I wouldn't get there until after 7pm. I expected a call much sooner. However, I left it up to her, sharing that if she really wanted me to go that I would. She agreed to go it alone.

Before Mindy got home I visited the Canon repair website where it presented an estimate to have my S95 flash problem repaired - $160 plus tax. Yikes! I would've called the tech support 800 number but they're only open during regular business hours. Perhaps Thursday AM.

I'm thinking it was near 730-740pm when she and Bella finally got home. She had a bag of Taco Bell in tow. Said she was exhausted but that the ski club meeting went well. Sounds like a good deal for Jacob since he already has a Mad River pass and all of his own gear. He'll only need to pay for the bus service to and fro each Thursday afternoon/evening. His new friend, Joel is planning to sign up too. We think it'll be a good experience for Jacob. What's more, he asked to join.

Bella shared that her tooth felt a lot better after Dr Scott filled a fairly deep cavity in her furthest back molar. Said her mouth was still numb, but didn't feel the shot at all. As for dinner, I enjoyed one of the chili cheese burritos Mindy brought home. I left the other for Jacob, who at that point still wasn't home. However, not even ten minutes passed before he was back at home. Just as I figured he might, he went right for the one remaining burrito. Jokingly, I offered to sell it to him.

It was 810pm when Mindy said she was heading up to bed. Good night dear. She asked that I make sure Bella was in bed by 9pm. Bella and I were both still hungry. I heated last Friday's Barley's leftovers on the pizza stone - some loaded fries for Bella and a brisket taco for me. After woofing down the taco, I headed to the living room to do some reading. I read for the next 90 minutes. Good stuff - The Evolution of God.

On her own and while I read, Bella headed off to bed just as her mother instructed. Between Mindy and the kids, there was all sorts of noise emanating from the upstairs. banging, clanking, giggling and what not. It was really hard to concentrate. By 1005pm I felt like I could fall asleep so I shut down the downstairs and headed up to bed. Unlike past nights, Mindy appeared to be asleep. Eiknarf followed but instead of whining to get into our bed, she went for the bedroom recliner. Yippie!

I had just started to dose off when Mindy woke with a horrible coughing spell which shook me to my core. After that, there wasn't any way I was falling asleep anytime soon. Her coughing went on for at least 15 minutes. Finally, around 1040pm, I rolled out of bed and headed back downstairs. I didn't want to read or play on the internet so I simply watched TV, How the Earth Works. This particular episode was about an interesting archeological find in a dormant volcano, which I believe was somewhere in Italy. It was raining steadily and fairly hard. I found the sound comforting, and it helped put me to sleep. I headed back to bed near 1130pm. Seconds after I was comfy and under the covers, the pug came a calling. She wanted up in our bed. Not able to take the incessant whining, I caved and put her up with us.