Last Work Day of The Week

It is Wednesday and technically still a work day though definitely the last work day of Thanksgiving week. And I actually did entertain the thought of taking Johnnie to the office today. But that thought lasted all of a minute when I decided I could just as easily do work from home while Johnnie did Prodigy exercises in the morning. The trick when you have Johnnie on a work day during the day is how to keep him occupied and not too bored, without actually engaging with him 100% of the time. And this morning it's all about Prodigy. My Thanksgiving plans for tomorrow were still pretty up in the air noting that the best case scenario would be to go see my family in San Diego and take Johnnie with me. But of course the thing about that Is to actually get Lisa's blessing. She tends to be at her neediest when (a) she is sick (b) when she is sick and Johnnie is not with her and so this double whammy is bound to manifest itself at some point but I'm hoping different. We'll know later on when we check in on her. In the meantime, I got a whole bunch of invoices done and emails from work read and next thing you know it was already lunchtime. We did a retro chicken noodle penne for Johnnie and a retro tuna sandwich and soup for me. I kept getting pinged all day from people asking me what I was doing for Thanksgiving. Dexter texted, Karl texted, and even Jorge called. I was happy to note that people had thought of me but also couldn't help but think  THAT is already enough to be thankful for, But I needed to pay it forward somehow. And what better way the to check in on Lisa. Johnnie and I went to her house and immediately we noted that she was up and about and was at least enjoying the sun on her porch. She noted that Johnnie "saved" her by giving her cereal last Monday and that her mom came yesterday but left abruptly when her dad called. Nothing new there, other than somehow it drew a parallel with my interaction with Lisa. I REALIZED that the tension between us is all about control. Lisa always trying to take control, but me no different for trying to resist it back. Lisa asked for a favor and get crickets for the gecko. I wanted to leave right then and there and get the crickets. I saw then that she wanted us to stay for as long as possible and I wanted to leave as soon as possible. I know I have to work on that because it makes her feel negative but I couldn't work on it today. We did go to Alan's pet store to get her crickets, which, for me was already a huge favor to fulfill. And for me was sufficient effort to add to simply coming over on our own accord without having to be asked. I did let her know we would be going to San Diego for Thanksgiving. She was, after all, getting a visit for her own parents. And so it all works out.  But I could tell she didn't like it. And that's ok. At least she told Johnnie to have fun. And off we went as she went back to bed rest. And from there I immediately put a different timeline in motion. Why not go to San Diego tonight to save us the trip tomorrow?! I texted Grace, then made a reservation at Motel 6 Carlsbad. Johnnie gets his wish of getting to stay at what seems to be his favorite hotel. Maybe not favorite, but the one he does remember because we have stayed there multiple times. I packed us quickly and then went to Panda Express Westwood to have dinner. It was almost 6 by the time we got done and got on the road. Off to San Diego. The big surprise was that there was not that much traffic. I mean there WAS traffic but not even nearly like it would be normally. It was moving at least. And we were downtown in a half hour. Johnnie would knock off within a couple of songs on the radio. I was enjoying Earth Wind and Fire too until I hit a high note and for some reason, started seeing stars. WTF? I'm driving!! What was going on? I pulled over to the farthest right lane and started to relax my breathing. Within a couple of minutes I felt better but that gave me a bit of a scare. What was THAT all about? I felt extreme tightness in my neck and back as if I was having a full-on anxiety attack. Why now? It occurred to me that it was probably physical residue from the interaction with Lisa this afternoon. That would be the only thing that would illicit a negative emotion all afternoon. I put on some healing audios from Maitreya Fields and it seemed to at least quell the negative response. We at least got to the Motel 6 with no incident. It was 8;30 PM by the time we got there. I got Johnnie chocolate milk from 7-11, and some nachos for me. But the superhero effort was making it to 11,000 steps tonight AND almost 100 active minutes doing the last 4000 steps in the hotel room without leaving it and with Johnnie there. I occupied him with Lego Masters on TV. Awesome. We're here in San Diego. Bring on Thanksgiving!