Lisa and Johnnie Back from Paris

So keeping in mind that I am picking up Johnnie and Lisa at LAX early this evening around 5-ish (at least per the text Lisa sent when they were boarding early this morning), I got started today with my inner work and got some significant stuff done. I was pretty impressed, so much so I even made a post all its own earlier. I had it in my mind that I needed to clean the bathroom, with the idea that Johnnie was already going to spend the night tonight, which means he's going to be showering. And I hadn't cleaned the bathroom since before he even left 2 weeks ago. And then of course I have to go grocery shopping too. There is no milk or OJ in the fridge. Also keeping in mind that I have him for most of next week as well. And then I gotta do laundry too. And so it would appear that my day is already full. Fortunately I did all the learning stuff first already. While doing laundry I had it in my mind I needed to return those Levi's 502s I bought on Christmas Eve. Damn things are too short. The 33x32s I bought on Ebay were the best fit. And so I headed out to Macy's Century City to get an exchange. THAT was spontaneous. I didn't even plan to do that today. And so the pic of me on a hammock in front of some high-end store at the Century City mall is as random as it seems. As it was, I did get to exchange my pants, even though I had already clipped off the tags. And then I stuck around the food court and brought back some kefta kabob from Massi kabob for my lunch. And of course after such a heavy meal, a nap right after would come rather easily wouldn't it? By the time I got up It was already past 2 PM. Not lost on me was that I hadn't even done more than a couple of thousands steps and I sure as heck wouldn't count on it being done tonight, not once I picked up Lisa and Johnnie anyway. And so I crammed a whole bunch of steps in this afternoon. AND got my laundry done.  AND grocery shopping too. AND finally I did finish cleaning my bathroom. And got to 6000 steps, all before 4:30 PM. I figured they'd be landing at LAX between 5:30 PM and 6 PM and so I got it all done in time. But boy I'm shocked at how compressed the day had gotten. Long gone was the 2 weeks that Johnnie wasn't around. It felt like I didn't do much of anything at all during that time. Too late to bug about it now. 

I had one more errand to do before heading out to LAX. I had to stop at Panda Express because Lisa had requested to have some food for she and Johnnie when I picked them up. Not understanding why we couldn't just stop on the way home since one was right on the way but I reminded myself that I had stopped trying to figure out Lisa's thinking. Though I may not agree with her the majority of the time, I figured that since I don't really have to spend that much time with her anymore, why not just let her win. Why not just do it her way. At least it isn't coming at me constantly like it did when I lived with her. Much less emotional energy wasted this way, even as much more physical energy is expended as well. All that to say I found myself stopping at Panda Express Marina del Rey, to pick up their food. And then stopped at the last Ralph's outpost before LAX to pick up mine. Even with all the inevitable wave of traffic meandering through LAX, I still managed to get there and get parked by 5:45. And wouldn't you know not 5 minutes after I opened my door, Lisa video calls to let me know they had arrived! A fortuitous drive for me and I got there seemingly in just the right time. I only had to wait about 10 minutes actually. They zipped through customs that fast. Finally among the throng of arrived people making their way through I see Johnnie and his big smile. My son is home! OK OK I'm also glad Lisa is home too. And of course I had to contend with all of her trials and tribulations she is expecting for the next 24 hours, namely her house. I dropped them off at Maplewood and stuck around for just a few minutes... in time to see Lisa's jaw drop about the backsplash in the kitchen and how it didn't match the counter top. Sigh. How great it is that I don't have to be dealing with that the next 24 hours. In fact, I loudly tell Johnnie to get himself ready to go since i'm taking him and that "Mommy needs to process" whatever it is she needs to process. Sigh. They're back alright. But the second Johnnie was alone with me in the car it was like his energy changed and he was back to himself again, at least the version that stays with me. He wanted some more food (I could have anticipated that... he was probably starved from the last couple of weeks). And so we stopped at Whole Foods. I wanted dinner for me too> I got me a pepperoni pizza and got him some chicken noodle soup (see pic) and we were good to go. And the second he walked through the door of the apartment, his routines kicked in and he went for his materials to do a lesson. I didn't even mention a word. And of course he got his reward: the Magic School Bus. The one he watched was the retro version with the haunted house and the lesson on sound waves. It felt totally back to normal in the apartment again. I let him watch later than usual tonight, aware that he was probably experiencing jet lag. I did make him take a shower at 10 PM finally. But I let the water run and 5 minutes later I could hear his heavy breathing. He had fallen asleep on a couple of inches of water... right in the tub! Poor thing was out like a light. It was all I could to finish his bath and get him rinsed and dried off and off to the bed. He was already half asleep in the tub, he was fully asleep 5 minutes later in the bed. Awww. My child is home. Vacation over.