There's always tomorrow

 

Just another day near Lancaster, PA

It's after 11 p.m. here in New York and I'm back home.

Sean and I returned from a not-quite 36-hour jaunt to Pennsylvania around 5:30 this evening.

I'm sitting at the computer not only to write this post but because I'm starting work.

Read that again: I'm starting work and it's after 11 p.m.

I have no idea what time I'll be done.

I also have a Hunt Scanlon podcast to record at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow.

Then I have to take Sean home since he opted to come back here with me tonight.

Then -- maybe -- I'll do "Doubleheader" and I'll tell you right now I don't have the first clue what to talk about or who to talk to, in part because I don't know if I'll be awake.

Then -- and let's not even speculate on what condition my condition will be in (1) -- I will host a taping of "The Owners' Box Horse Racing Podcast"(2) at 8 p.m.

Like, am I out of my mind?

(1) I'm paraphrasing Kenny Rogers and the First Edition.

(2) I might leave my video off because I'm yawning too much through these Zoom sessions.

Next week -- hahahahahahaha -- I am recording...ready?...podcasts for Hunt Scanlon at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 1 p.m., and 2 p.m. Then "Doubleheader." Then "Owners' Box."

Seriously. WTF is wrong with me?

I'm grateful for all of the opportunities. Believe me. I also love helping (and this shouldn't be seen as my not wanting to assist on other projects). But both ends of the candle have met in the middle. 

Honestly, I should have stayed true to this weekend. To a point, I talked myself out of what should have been a three-day weekend. I should have taken care of my own mental health, and I'm not.

All in the name of making money and not letting anyone down.

Except myself. Because, hey, who cares?

Sean is content, so I'll leave him out of this. As good as it all was -- with hiccups for sure -- he didn't push for another night. That's not on me. I should have stayed true to the train car last night and "Pricelined" a room for tonight before making our way home tomorrow.

I try to make everyone happy. Believe me, that's why I do "Doubleheader" more often than not.

PA Route 896, where we encountered ice last night

The takeaways from this are meant to be positive, in that the weekend was great and I wish it had been a touch longer. It's also great in that I recognize that I need to "do better" at taking care of myself.

Easier said than done, of course.

But I'm also happy that I didn't panic over money as we traveled or anything like that. We enjoyed each thing we did. I didn't pull back over concerns for the money. We took on whatever traveling brought us and we -- ahem, I -- need to do it again.

That's part of why I want to do road games with the Gades -- even if it's just a handful. They're road trips to me. I get the little nuances that make me happy:

- The early departure and the (hopefully) empty roads.

- The food (that which brings much playful scorn).

- The sites.

- The freedom to go whatever route I want and boy, did I have fun with that.

I wasn't even entirely "me" on this trip. I didn't track miles and time on the road. I took very few pictures as I drove. Honestly, it's OK. I sort of decided to just let it all go on this one.

I didn't have us out of bed early this morning (and I probably should have to avoid a wait at breakfast).

But there were moments of peace as well, where father and son weren't constantly in each other's faces. The setup of the room had us back to back, so Sean put headphones on and did computer stuff. I wrote the bloggity and watched TV. 

Then we both slept. I woke up, sat in bed and looked at my phone before getting ready and taking a walk around the Red Caboose Motel. I found cats to pet and took pictures of some of the cabooses.

A cat followed us to our room door and Sean visited with him.

Then we began today's adventure

Which should have ended at a random, but a decent, hotel.

Which is where I should be writing from tonight.

Lesson learned.