Randy sitting with Autumn curled at his feet
By Randy Pierce
Today is Tuesday, September 9 – at least it is as I write this. After posting a couple of topic options on my Facebook feed the results quickly suggested people might prefer to get a glimpse into an ordinary day. While it’s not quite the Autumn day I suggest, in this house, every day is an Autumn day.
Still groggy from our late Monday night Hudson Lions Club meeting, the alarm tones at 5 a.m. since Tracy needs to be out early to avoid the traffic on her way to Duvine Bicycle Adventures in Somerville, MA. That’s all the signal Autumn needs to announce that her face licking, tail wagging energy will unleash upon me should I not begin the day with a trip outside for her needs and then her breakfast. This day, like many, will have a cup of coffee included as I sit by the computer and check messages to ensure the day is still on track. So why not join us for the day?
5:30 a.m. Autumn relieved and fed first, then water, with banana and a quick breakfast for me at the PC. How many emails can I manage before the next tasks call?
6:00 a.m. Dynamic warm-up and stretch in preparation for run training.
6:30 a.m. 5.45 mile run with Mary Guiding me and Autumn sulking at home.
7:30 a.m. Shower and second breakfast for this calorie-counting (albeit tall) hobbit in training.
8:30 a.m. Prioritize the To Do list which today includes:
Autumn at play.
11:00 a.m. Hey, where is the day going? Start laundry, water and relieve Autumn who is impatient and deservedly so. Take a 2-mile walk to appease the girl, my legs and our practice time together as training with a Dog Guide is an every day opportunity to learn and grow as a team. Today’s challenge was wanting more time outside as the weather is beautiful. I suspect I’m not alone in this.
12:00 p.m. Autumn follows the Quinn rules of “Playment plans!” This means after every bit of harness work we break out a toy and reward her with play. She is eager and energetic while I’m thinking about my own lunch (see hobbit comment from above!)
1:00 p.m. Back to the computer for more work. I’ll spare you the details save that Apple’s info release is followed via Twitter feed on my iPhone. This makes my work a little distracted but 2020 Vision Quest usually involves 10 hours of work for me during the day. We interrupted to confirm the consult with Mom’s medical team and plan her return trip home on Friday afternoon.
4:00 p.m. Feed, water and relieve the Autumn after a play session entirely intended to break me away from work mode. A burst of home chores to precede Tracy’s arrival and set the stage for our various discussions of the evening. While Tracy will have her own run training evening plans, I must research the weekend’s hike of Mt. Chocorua, a potential first-time yoga class on Friday, our “Iso-Abs” workout for tonight and the plan for our Peak Potential Dinner and Auction meeting on Sunday.
Autumn shows Randy the price for lying down on the job!
Usually around 100 new emails will arrive during the day, requiring me to sort and respond as appropriate for the scheduling and planning of school and corporate presentations as well as general charity management. All this and it’s voting day here in our home city of Nashua, NH. Tired, well be careful lying down as there’s plenty ahead with an impending Autumn season… as well as an exuberant Dog Guide who needs to ensure I know the price of lying down on the job!
You want real updates on any of those topics? That would take an entire blog post for each and the days ahead will no doubt include such so stay connected to us in all the ways possible and thanks for coming along with me today!
Thanks for an enlightening post, Randy. It made me tired just reading it. 🙂 Loved the picture of Autumn running in the yard with the toy in her mouth – pure joyful exuberance.