Breathing my Mind into Your Face

It’s Friday morning and I just finished my 3rd cup of coffee from the Japanese made fine bone china Tiffany mug given to me by a business partner. Each year they send a singular Tiffany cup of some description. It’s tucked in the back of the mug cupboard, but I wanted to feel like an upscale gentleman today. I also had a Liquid IV energy/electrolyte powder, a 15mg Adderall, and two doses of my oldest’s Ritalin. Like every morning, I told the kids to have fun and be nice to people on their way out to the bus stop with mom. Mom goes to the gym after the bus arrives and I sit on the recliner in the family room. I watch the Today Show and read my morning newsletters from The NY Times, The Hustle, Axios Markets, Axios Detroit, Detroit Free Press, Automotive News, and the Car Dealership Guy. Then I did the mini NY Times crossword, the Wordle, and the Connections game. After I felt up to speed on the world around me, I rose from the recliner to stretch. This was followed by dizziness and me grabbing the edge of the couch to avoid passing out. My plan is to document my last few days via this journal, do enough job work to try to end the week without looking like the slacker I’ve been every other day, run a minimum 3 miles, then take my oldest to an Eagle Scout ceremony this evening. After that I’ll come home and fill myself with Cannabis while my wife drinks wine. We’ll either watch Four Seasons on Netflix or Friends and Neighbors on Apple. Maybe we’ll have sex, that’d be cool.

On Tuesday night my youngest read a couple of chapters from the latest Dog Man book to me, then I read a couple chapters to him. Afterward, I was giving him advice on how to fall asleep by breathing slow and deep through the nose, clearing the mind, and trying to picture each part of the body relaxing from feet to forehead. He told me the same demon always visits him when he’s trying to get to sleep. The demon is all black and cylindrical in shape. The head is a smaller cylinder on top of the big cylinder with a bright white mouth and eyes to cut through the black. I don’t know what else we talked about but it was a great conversation. He even said he couldn’t wait until we could talk like that again when it was my turn to put him to bed on Thursday.

Last night I took my oldest to see an executive functioning coach for the first time. We’re trying to get him to take responsibility for his schedule and due dates. We want him to take pride in his work rather than just get it done. He’s like me, only thinking about what he wants to do right now instead of doing what’s best for his life. Can he overcome his genetic predisposition for sloth and become a productive member of society that enjoys an above average level of happiness? If I’m going to keep being his dad everyday, probably not.