More Calling Hours

Was up near 6am again, this time it was raining immediately out of bed. As such, I took my time with exercise, internet and coffee figuring that I wouldn't run until after Bella was on the bus. Around 7am I got busy with work, too. Mindy left for school at 730am, and shortly thereafter I put work aside for meditation, a stretch, and pug walking duty. Bella was out the door for school at 8am.

Didn't leave for my run until; 835am. By then the rain was reduced to a light sprinkle, but it picked up again sometime into the 4.1 mile run. When I got back home I immediately tossed all of my clothes into the dryer and put my running shoes on the heating vent. I was soaked. Made breakfast for the pug and I.

Worked a little before heading up for a shower. Thinking it was near 1015am when I left the house for New Albany. Just before that, Mindy sent a text sharing details surround the calling hours for one of her students grandpa's. She wanted me to go with her that evening.

Had to park in the deepest part of the customer's parking lot. Good thing I had my umbrella with me otherwise I would've been soaked after the long, rainy walk in. Stayed busy leading up to our standing 1pm meeting. The meeting was brief, only about 30 minutes. Some of us stuck around after for another impromptu discussion. I stuck around until 2pm and then left for the day, my plan being to make a quick trip by the New Albany Oakland Nursery and the home where I would finish my work day.

I hadn't been to the New Albany Oakland Nursery before, but it was easy to get to, and only 3.7 miles from the office. I hoped to find healthy cannas bulbs with bronze foliage and orange flowers if possible. Nice place. Smaller than their Columbus location, but quaint. I liked it. I looked at some of the annuals they had out, and quickly catching my eye were these lovely orange begonias. A little pricey, though. I could only find red cannas, which I already have a ton of. Before leaving, I stopped by the desk to ask. The woman working was very helpful and guided me back to the greenhouse, and to a different area other than where I found the red cannas. Yep, they had more, but she said they only had bronze/orange. Really? Awesome! Moreover, they looked healthy and the price was great. They came in a 5-pack for $6.99. I bought two. I also picked up a bag of 8 multicolored Asian Lillie bulbs too.

Home James! Arrived home near 3pm and quick got back to work. It was an relatively easy finish to the work day. The kids and Mindy were soon home. Somewhat surprisingly, Jacob had soccer practice. With all the recent rain I was sure it would be canceled. Our plan was to take Bella to gymnastics and then go to the calling hours in the short north. Can't remember what we ate for dinner. I think I only snacked.

We dropped Bella at gymnastics just before 6pm and then took 270 to 670 exiting on Neil Ave. into the short north, arriving at the Shaw Davis funeral home around 615pm. All the immediate parking was taken. We paid to park at a nearby meter. Interesting decor - 40's/50's era. Mindy led the way eventually finding her student, Caylee, who once she laid eyes on Mindy came up and gave her a big, long hug. Cute and sad all at once. As Mindy shared, this same woman lost her first husband the same way, to cancer, and both were relatively young. Mindy's helped them through difficult times past. Seems, too, that Mindy's had a few of the family's children in her class over the years. She hugged several of them. Caylee walked us up to see her grandpa. Noticed small handwritten love notes in the casket from grandchildren. Very touching.

We didn't stay too long. Talked with the wife and kids and then left. Probably there no more than 15 minutes. Just a few blocks from North High Brewing, Mindy suggested we stop in for one beer. Why not? Been a couple months since we were last in. Not too many cars in the lot. Met David, a new bartender. Interesting character originally from New York City. The owners, Tim and Gavin weren't in. According to David, out on deliveries. I opted for one of their IPAs while Mindy enjoyed their stout. Talked with David the entire time. We couldn't stay too long. We had to pick-up Bella from gymnastics at 730pm. It was 725pm and we weren't even on 670W. Mindy sent a text to Kelly, Bella's gymnastics instructor sharing that we would be a little late. No problem.

Think it was 740pm when we finally arrived. Mindy was inside for 15-20 minutes. I was just about to call her cell when they finally came out. As soon as she was in the car Mindy said she had something to share with me later. Storms were rolling into the area again, and this thunderstorms. The skies looked impressively wicked. I suggested a stop at Dairy Queen for ice cream. Bella was game. It's just down the road but by the time we got there the thunderstorms were pretty much overtop of us. Strong wind, lightning, thunder and rain. We ran inside DQ.

I haven't had a DQ ice cream cone for myself for two years. Ordered a chocolate cone dipped in chocolate. Bella had a giant waffle cone filled with vanilla ice cream while Mindy had a Reece's blizzard. Yuck! Before we left, Mindy got something to take home for Jacob. Not sure what it was. The brunt of the thunder storm was now just to our north and east. There were several incredible lightning strikes visible from the freeway. Haven't seen lightning like that for some time.

Home just after 8pm, the rest of the evening was a bit of a blur. I'm sure that we were in bed by 10pm.