Peaceful Day Before Thanksgiving

The children are off all of this week for the Thanksgiving holiday. This is part of their 10 month school year and it does make sense to have the entire week off especially if there is travel involved. There won’t be any travel involved this year for a few reasons. The most notable reason is the fact that I cannot readily travel unless I receive permission. I am going to seek permission to run the marathon in Phoenix comes January but I do want to keep my “interactions” to a minimum.

Thankfully every since our trip in July those “interactions” have been non-existent; less is certainly more and additionally; we certainly don’t have the funds to travel this Thanksgiving. My daughter did ask me how much it costs to fly to New Jersey over the Christmas holiday because she would like to spend Christmas in New Jersey. I explained the cost and she seemed to understand that this would be much too expensive.

I love my daughter with all my being and I love having those late night talks such as the other night. She does seem to contradict herself at times because from what I understand last year when she was in New Jersey she wanted to come out to California for Christmas and now the reverse stands true. My daughter is very politically correct when it comes to family since she has two grandmothers who reside in New Jersey and doesn’t like to play favorites. She explained to me that she would live with my wife’s mother because there isn’t anyone else in that household whereas my mother has her husband and my grandmother in her household. My daughter certainly has learned not to hurt anyone’s feelings with the exception of her brother’s feelings!!

Staying here in California is wonderful with me and really traveling during this week is no fun even though it appears travel has been curtailed by the economy. I had some work to do today but this has been a very light week by design. I had to opt for the “free pass” gym this morning since the hot water was still not working at my normal gym. My sickness or whatever it is seems to be lingering but not bad enough to hamper me from working out. Normally Wednesdays are the high intense days but today I had to cut back since I just couldn’t get amped up for the higher intensity. I managed to improvise and did add to my mileage total making up for Monday’s absence but it wasn’t a very good Wednesday workout. Nonetheless I became the sweaty mess necessary and was able to take a shower at the “free pass” gym.

I made my way into the office for a few hours and spent most of that time talking with my boss. I have had bosses younger than me over the years and it certainly doesn’t faze me at this stage of my career. (Let’s face it I will take what I can get and I have no business being picky!!) I did get along with most of my bosses over the years. I did seem to have difficulty with the female bosses over the years but never the male bosses. I can’t pinpoint why this has occurred but it has been a long time since I had a female boss.

I do enjoy my current boss and would like to make this new opportunity a long standing gig. I don’t know what the future holds but I can see my duties increasing in the next few months when my “restrictions” are lifted. There have been a few occasions recently where I could have been of more value had I not had these restrictions but thankfully my boss understands. Of course I will continue doing what is required of me and will continue to learn this new industry.

The day came to a peaceful close and yes, we are hosting Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow our first together in two years. My friend said it to me over the weekend when we played golf as to how special it will be on Thanksgiving being with my family for the holiday. Yes, I do agree; however; as I explained to my friend everyday is a holiday for me since each day is a blessing and is extra special. I have learned the hard way but thankfully in recovery I am reminded how far I have come and continue to embrace each day; one at a time.