Friday goes to the dog

Carl hangs out in Sleeping Beauty's forest

First, the day started too soon again.  I woke up before 4 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep, so "gave up and got up" at some point.

The mythical son had said he'd be dropping Carl early, to allow himself extra time.  He and Carl arrived about 6:15 a.m.  It was still dark.  

Wait, what, Carl on a Friday?  Isn't Monday Carl day?

Well, it used to be that Monday was the one day a week the mythical son had to get his physical self into the office.  That was pre-pandemic.  Then he was only in the office rarely for a year and a half.  But today was special, it was his last day working for this employer.  He had to turn in his "work at home" gear, and have an in person exit interview.

When he dropped Carl off he apologized for being a bit later than he'd hoped.  Seems when he has a panic attack, it gives him the dry heaves, and this leaving the job had him at a level of anxiety such that he did not get much sleep.

Neither did his mother.  I'm worried about him.  Yeah, yeah, typical mom.  When he came to pick Carl up after his work day, he confirmed that he had his exit strategy calculated right to the cliff's edge.  He is still qualified to be re-employed, should he at some point want to work for this employer again.

In the meantime, he's filling out the necessary forms, etc. to re-enroll in grad school, to finish up his Masters degree.  His advisor assures him he can pick up where he left off, he has the base courses covered, he can move on to the advanced ones.

 Sleeping beauty's forest is back

I had told my son that "Grandma" (that's me) had a whole backyard full of weeds that Carl could "help" me with, evoking his puppy memories of the days he used to spend with me.  The outdoor mate to Mt. St. Omigawd (the indoor piles) is the overgrown outside, which I refer to as Sleeping Beauty's Forest.  

"We" did some work out there, but as the day heated up, we retreated indoors to the A/C.  Carl is a lot calmer as an adult dog than he was as a puppy, and flopped down with a sigh to nap, as Grandma is pretty boring.  Carl was happy when his daddy came to retrieve him.

And the cats are back in charge.

As they drove off, I stepped out on the deck and in plain English announced to the invisible cats that Carl was gone, he would not be coming back today, the house was theirs.  Went back inside.  Within five minutes, The Prisoner presented himself at the door for admittance.  A few minutes later, Rubia followed.  And it's a kitty haven again.  Dog toys have been collected back into their box.  Garden tools back to the garage.

The evening pep talk:

You made it through the work week.  It's Friday.  Time to change gears and focus on the home front.  This weekend for me includes volunteering at a Triathlon on Sunday morning.  

Important:  Do not lose focus on self-care in the process!  Be kind to yourself in assessing how your week went.  And remember that when it comes to your body processing intake and outgo, a weekend day is no different from a week day!  Eat to support your health, mental, physical, and spiritual.  Be active to feed your soul, not just your body!

You only get one shot at each day as it comes around... here's hoping your Friday, September 10, 2021 was appreciated as the gift the present is!  🎁✨💖🎇🔥

As with every day, we Spark on!