After an Overdose of Xmas ... a Calamity Day for Mindy and the Kids

After an overdose of Xmas and snow skiing, it was time to get back to a normal routine, which of course included getting back to work and my career. Strangely absent was that empty feeling that usually accompanies the end of Xmas vacation. That was a good sign.

I was up a couple times during the night to pee. The last time around 4am. Not only was the wind whipping against the house, but there was new snow covering everything. However, it couldn't have been more than a couple inches. I was out of bed for good around 530am and felt good. Soon I was downstairs doing sit-ups, windmills and push-ups for the first time in more than a week. Felt good to be back in the swing. I was eager to check the temperature. At the time it was still above zero - a whopping 5 degrees but dropping steadily and very windy. The windchill was already around -20. I already knew that school was cancelled for Mindy and the kids, and was expecting Lindsey to drop off the boys sometime before 645am. I played on the computer until the boys arrived. As cold as it was, Landon came to the door fixated on his new Kindle. I could see the screen's glow on his face as he walked towards the door.

Once inside, I got the boys situated in the family room. Rocky was quick to want to go back to sleep on the sofa. Landon, on the other hand, wanted to play his Kindle. I asked that they relax quietly, sleep if they wanted, and watch TV. Put the TV on Disney Channel. Soon, I got busy with work, first sorting through and deleting mountains of email.

Mindy was determined to sleep in as late as she wanted. And that wasn't a problem for me. Figured I could get a good jump on the work week. Probably because they were tired, the boys were more than cooperative. Didn't hear much from them at all for the next hour or two. I planned to run sometime after daybreak, which was around 730am. By then the temperature had dipped below zero and was expected to keep going down all through the day, eventually bottoming out around -7 before windchill. The wind was gusting near 25 mph making for a windchill of around -30.

I headed out for a run around 9am. For the most part, I was dressed for the bitter cold save for one small problem. Didn't account for the my special parts beyond the usual winter layers. In addition, I didn't encounter the brutally cold wind until I completed the warm-up lap and was facing due west. Initially, it took the air right from my lungs. One easily forgets just how cold it feels. But save for my face, a half mile into my run I was warm and toasty. And after another half mile or so my face was toasty too. I ran the full 4.1 miles, and by the time I returned home my entire outer layer was coated in thick frost created by the transfer of my body heat.

I'm thinking that Mindy was up around 930-10am. The kids sleep even later. I don't think that Jacob was up until almost noon. Bella was up a little earlier. Stayed busy with work while Mindy continued the Xmas de-decorating effort. All that remained was the familyroom and tree. Once Jacob was up, he and Rocky went at it a time or two, but all in all, the kids played pretty well together. The temperature continued to drop throughout the afternoon and by 3pm it had dropped to -5.

Lindsey sent a text around 4pm sharing that she was on her way home. By then, Mindy already knew that she and the kids didn't have school again on Tuesday - cancelled due to the extreme cold. We told Lindsey that we would keep the boys again so she wouldn't have to worry about it. I stayed busy with work until 5pm or so. By and large, it was a pretty quiet day.

As one might expect, Eiknarf struggled to go potty with the brutal cold and snow. Still, we were persistent and walked her twice, both times netting the necessary results. However, earlier, I had to pick her up and carry her back up the drive way as her paws were in pain from the cold.

By 7pm the temperature had dropped to -7 degrees with windchills around -34. All day long the house was creaking and popping like never before. Interesting. Soon after dinner, Mindy declared it family night. Together we played a host of family games. first, we played spoons, then Farkle, then 21 - Black Jack using Jacob's new poker chips. We had fun. It was college national championship night - Auburn vs. Florida St.. Auburn lead 14-3 when we joined, the game already well into the first quarter.

We all headed to bed early. By halftime, Mindy and I were in bed. We watched the entire second half from there. It was an exciting and improbably finish. Didn't think Florida State had a chance, at least judging by the first three quarters of play. In the end, however, they pulled it out and won. It was well after midnight before Mindy and I were asleep.