First Summer Tuesday Johnnie At Home

A distant memory I woke up this morning and for some reason I had a memory of my first year at Nogales High School. I had tried out for the JV Basketball team, and I thought I was doing pretty well and holding my own. But I also realized that my fundamentals were not up to par. And so when I asked the coach when the next practices were he practically told me I could come but there was very little chance I would make the team because there were so many other guys coming back that had already played on the team. I was disappointed of course but I simply brushed it off. Or maybe repressed it. Otherwise why would it come up now? Did it set me up for future patterns of less-than-optimal choices and behaviors? If that were Johnnie I would tell him, you gotta work harder, not give up and your opportunity will come. Just not that day and perhaps not with that team. And I know he would have tried harder and worked at making a team. I know this because I would push him. Alas, I had no one to push me then, no parent with an encouraging word. But I did try. And I would end up getting better. Just was a late bloomer was all. And so I would tell ME now... whatever you want to do, get up off your ass and get to work. You will be just fine. 

So today I had Johnnie at home all day. I lined up stuff for him to do in 45 minute blocks as if he were still in school, not that I knew the stuff he did in class or in what order. The point was I wanted to make sure I aligned the activities with the times I was going to be in meetings. Although, it IS Tuesday and really I needed a far larger block of time than 45 minutes to get done with my content for tomorrow's meetings. But I also didn't need to do all of that content in one sitting either. And so for the first meeting, which was the IS Team Meeting, Johnnie was doing karate online with DojoGo, which he had done a year ago. I was also intentional in making sure he was moving around even if he was in front of a computer doing so. Once done with that, it was on to Math. I remembered last summer he had actually progressed quite significantly with just the stuff I was showing him on YouTube. He was already doing first grade stuff well before starting first grade. And this time around he will be done with 2nd grade stuff too. Once done with that, it was on to Spanish class before lunch. I needed him locked in for an hour because I had that Shared Services Meeting with Eloisa and the other Directors about the meeting schedule for next year. Looks like I wouldn't be doing Tech Council Meeting anymore every month which is just fine by me. Just one long meeting every couple of months. Of course it is now on Tuesdays and it is now starting at 8:00 AM and likely in person AND starting in August when Johnnie's starts school again. When did I say I was on track to retire? Anyway starting this brand new routine even though it is just for this week, means I have to make Johnnie lunch. Hey at least I can monitor what he eats and that he eats at all! Today it was spaghetti for home, a hot dog with no bun, and a banana. For me it was spaghetti with turkey bolognese. Yes, I moved away from the usual vegan stuff but hey considering the weight I lost I think an off-day wouldn't hurt. Besides it's just one meal. I feel good that I'm getting muscly in my arms again. That used to be my calling card! Besides, Johnnie needed the energy for what I had in store after lunch. We're off to the pool! Again, for just a 30-minute chunk this time, I had him swimming. It had gotten warmer and there were a lot of women sun bathing in fact LOL. I managed to chill too. I call it a break from content creation the rest of the afternoon, which is what I ended up doing. By 3 PM, Johnnie was doing his usual Prodigy stuff and shortly after, my learning/activity school simulation regimen was done. I know, I know, it IS summer. But it got Johnnie occupied didn't it? And I think he had fun in the process too. Finally I did let him watch his Pokemon episodes on TV. And then we took another break at 5 PM as if it was a regular school Tuesday. That meant we went to Panda Express to get his dinner. I got me some veggies too, to go with a nice tuna sandwich and the eggplant Indian side dish. See? I'm back to the eating regimen. And managed to finish my 11,000 steps and 67 active minutes. What I didn't get to do today, was internal stuff. At least not after early morning meditation. And I think that's still ok. I could have done it at night actually but instead, I watched the Season Finale of Mayans. Man, gone was the innocent Ezekiel from Season 1. Every character's arc had changed significantly. All bait for the next season I'm sure.  Still before I drifted to sleep I managed to get to a space of gratitude for today. It was a Johnnie summer Tuesday at home and I think we both did really really good.