Bugs In The Routine

So just as soon as I start thinking I'm settling into this new routine, bugs show up. Maybe I just got myself used to working remotely 100% of the time for an entire year plus that now that something has come up that (a) makes me show up at work in person (b) butts against the new drop-Johnnie-off pick-Johnnie-up routine I'm all of a sudden feeling like I'm scrambling. That something is a Strategic Planning meeting next week at East Third from 10 - noon in person. Of course that puts it squarely right in the sweet spot of when I have to pick Johnnie up from school and so I'm finding myself with no backup. Hadn't worked on that really. And so the first thought was the Lisa staff option. Back in the day she would send Nikki to pick up Johnnie, or Ed. But that was 2 years ago. I sent her a text and hoped she could help me out for just one day. I will admit that I'm thinking that an in-person meeting is an inconvenience. A huge one. But then again it's not like I've been asked to do that all year long and now I'm being asked to do it and it's the first time in a really long while so I have to try to make it. Again I'm hoping Lisa can help me out this time. I don't think I need to remind her that I've always showed up when she has a doctor's appointment (LOTS OF THEM) on a Friday and again I'm crossing my fingers that we can work something out this time. And I'm trying to erase lingering thoughts that point to her dramatics and my perception that she is simply not 100% reliable. She simply puts her practice and her patients in front of everything else. I'm not saying it's wrong or it's bad. Just fact. And that I better find a solution which doesn't involve her. What was different about today was that it got downright hot by the time I picked up Johnnie from school. As in mid 80s hot. I didn't mind of course and I was sure glad I talked Johnnie into wearing shorts today.

I told myself that at least I took the day off tomorrow as a sort of breather. In the meantime, as soon as it started running into the late afternoon, we started shifting into LISA HAND-OFF mode. That means putting away Johnnie's toys and packing up his school stuff. It used to be he would build these huge structures or make a store or something. Things that would take a little time to put away. Not these days. AND sometimes, Johnnie would actually be motivated to clean the ENTIRE HOUSE. As in the entire apartment. I didn't believe it until he did just that a couple of weeks ago. And he started doing it again today. I took a pic of him cleaning up the dog's multiple towels outside to get rid of the dirt and other foreign objects. And then he actually put the towels near the hamper to get washed. That wasn't all either. He asked to move the sofa so WE could clean under it. THAT by itself is for sure a learned behavior and he didn't learn it from me LOL. The thing was once we got started and cleaned the floor under the sofa we couldn't very well stop there. Of course I had to do the rest of the living room. And it was Johnnie who noticed that the stand holding the TV was dusty. And of course he got a towel and started cleaning THAT too. He put our shoes away, even put the sofa pillows just so, in a symmetric order that could have only come from Lisa. The result at the end of the evening was the picture I posted. I had a STAGGERINGLY CLEAN apartment again. I mean the difference between just a few hours earlier when the dog was there couldn't have been more night and day. NOW it's as if there was no animal staying here. I even cleaned the kitchen floors on my hands and knees. The hand-off was fairly routine and Lisa did come at 7:50 after I called her at 7:30. No complaints from me there. I was already done with my 11000 steps anyway. All I had to do was to go back in the house and finish cleaning. And then I chilled by watching the new Michael B Jordan movie NO REMORSE (Tom Clancy). A good Thursday night it was. And I have the day off tomorrow! My work week is done!!!