The Daily News

1  It's funny how much I miss Lil' Maren and Lil' Isla when I don't see them for a couple of days.

2  Yesterday life returned to normal. 

3  I put a long and emotional weekend behind me.

4  That was a tough one. 

5  Yesterday morning I awakened at five, but snoozed a bit, one of those deals where you got plenty of sleep, but it was still five.

6  I'd love to say that we older people call what I did "resting my eyes" but I always called it that anyway.

7  And the older I get, the less I want to use the word "rest" to mean "repose." 

8  I did "rest" my eyes though. I remembered the night before that Rat Guy was to make his final appearance this day.

9  So I rested, listened to some great conspiracy theories about the Bobby Kennedy assassination, and learned all sorts of new things.

10  Interesting stuff I won't bore you with, even though it morphed into the airplane crash of John Kennedy, Jr. 

11  Anyway, that took me into the 6 a.m. Rat Guy usually arrives at around 7:20, although last week he pushed that to 7:30.

12  I decided to get up and walk, instead of writing, researching, or anything like that. This is yesterday, mind you. I have a perfect house for walking around and remaining somewhat quiet. 

13  And I have that app that tells me my number of steps, miles, and daily averages. 

14  I don't like going out and walking around a dark street. Our neighborhood is pretty safe, and we have lots of police protection, but still. Once the sun rises I'm good; we live really close to shopping, so I will often walk to Raley's supermarket and pick up creamer, or coffee, or Jimmy Dean's McMuffins. 

15  Yesterday morning I was all about walking min-laps inside the house until Rat Guy arrived. 

16  After about an hour, my feet started hurting. No Rat Guy. I decided to clean the house as I walked, so that I would begin the day clean and organized. I had my first BBQ of the Spring on Sunday night, but the yard still needed to get put back together. 

17  This all added lots of mileage to my walking. 

18  As 7:20 hit, I glanced out the front window. No Rat Guy.

19  7:30. No Rat Guy.

20  Hmmm.

21  If I had school, I would have taken off. Retired, I had to change my plans for the day. I had to begin writing this, and yesterday required a lot of sequencing; that is, putting the events and ideas in the order in which they happened.

22  That seems easy unless you understand that I often write this at different sittings. 

23  Waiting for Rat Guy, I found it hard to sit down and write with any sort of fluidity, because it required some concentration. And I knew the second I sat down and got into a flow, Rat Guy would come a knocking. 

24  It became 7:45. Then 8. Then 8:30. 

25  I suppose I should have called the guy, but I really didn't feel like going there. I just didn't.

26  Helene finally took off to help Caitlin give the babies baths, and to make their day.

27  I wound up walking almost two miles before Rat Guy finally arrived. I relaxed, and said nothing. I kept the conversation businesslike and friendly, even though I sort of wanted to drop an anvil on his head. I decided to take the high road. Shrug shoulders, relax and smile. Your head smiles when you go that road. And it is less traveled. 

28  I told him that we had heard a little noise in the back, but that it was sounding slower and slower. He told me that he ordinarily would have emptied all the traps "by now," which implied that we were probably free of all pests, and that whatever was up there was probably not going to make it. 

29  I'd love to say that made me feel better...

30  Anyway, he checked, poked around, and re-appeared. We are probably free of all pests at this time.

31  I didn't think there was much of anything going on up there anyway, so it was all good. 

32  He took off and I felt I had died and gone to Heaven. 

33  Just an expression. I was happy I could finally shower, clean, clean, clean, and polish everything, and then get ready to see those babies.

34  I gathered all my stuff and headed over. 

35  Evidently, before I got over there, the babies were having a bad morning, which usually involves a lot of crying and fussing.

36  I arrived in all new, shiny-clean clothes, went inside and saw that Helene was holding Lil' Maren, who saw me, and then broke into the hugest smile you can imagine! Within seconds, Caitlin showed me Lil' Isla, who ALSO broke into this wide smile, coupled with some laughing and screeching. They both screeched, causing me to screech too, but on a much more adult level. Note to young parents: if you match a baby's screech and pitch, they will scream and cry. Instantly. Ask a guy who whistled too loudly on Punky's Dilemma. 

37  For around five minutes, I was the most important guy in the room. Heck, I was the most important guy in the town.

38  Never mind that I was the only guy in the room. I felt like a king. Those two always look beautiful to me, but they were beside themselves this time.

39  "How did you guys magnify your cuteness that fast?" I asked. 

40  I giggled. Grown man. Not gonna lie. The sun shined brightly and we allowed it in, enjoying all the warmth and magic of the morning. 

41  The news filled with reports that Folsom Lake rose 100 bazillion feet or something in the past week. Hooray! It was okay to enjoy the sunlight.

42  Good to see smiles everywhere, and to hear the sounds of high-pitched squeals and laughter. 

43  Great morning. At one point Maren started to turn her face into this torture look she gives, but Caitlin popped a bottle into my hand, and within seconds, she was in my arms staring up into my eyes, her eyes rolling up from being tuckered.

44  Nothing more peaceful. 

45  I kept falling asleep holding her, but she'd let me know when the bottle would slip. 

46  A little later on, I was awakened, and suddenly we were all preparing for a walk. I was completely out-of-it tired, but I joined in. Great hike around the park, and back home. 

47  The entire afternoon kept repeating the sleeping and the eating, and was comfortable and loving. 

48  I somehow managed to get home after all that, completely obliterated from sleepiness. At around 9 p.m. I saw that my numbers of steps and mileage had soared due to Rat Guy, the walk in the park, the constant interruptions of naps, and all the rest. And at 9 p.m. I decided to challenge myself and push the envelope. 

49  Last night at 9:46, I posted these numbers in my iPhone notes:  6.33 miles. 15,314 steps. 5.01 Daily Average. That's over the past two weeks, and change. 

50  You need to understand that I'm not really a serious walk-guy. My numbers have always floundered around 3 to 4 miles. I know there are people out there kicking my ass, but 

for me, these are record numbers. 

51  Listen: At the beginning of summer I could barely walk. I had damaged my Achilles, limped through Disneyland, walked Vegas in grave pain, and left a reunion because I couldn't keep on my feet. I had the fear of a blood clot following me through all of this, so yesterday and last night were sort of huge for me.

52  So much so that I wanted to share. Again, it isn't a huge thing, but for me it was. 

53  It just was. More important than all of that was the pure joy of a day with those babies. It was just a good day is all. It was just a great day, and I wanted to share. 

54  Okay, I gottago. I hope you understand. Tired, but a good sort of tired. 

55  See you again.

56  Have a GREAT day. Manage it so it works. It's worth the rewards. Trust me. Love stuff. Okay I really gottago. See ya.

57  Thanks for listening.

58  Peace.

~H~

fin.