Inversion

In the direct inverse of his going to sleep at 3am on Thursday morning, Charlie woke up at 3am on Friday morning. He wanted an immediate walk; the timer helped him wait for 3 hours. Again, he did fine at school, happy on his bike rides. There was some extra standing, stomping and sounding on a 2nd evening walk that Jim came on too, both of us being mindful of the last walk the three of us had done the night before Jim's Boston trip in February.

I had spent 5 hours (thanks to a 5-car accident on the NJ Turnpike driving to Pensylvania to see a very good friend. I haven't seen her in 15 years. Her husband died suddently last July. She has two children, both a little younger than Charlie.

We got cappucinos at the Starbucks of the state university campus where she was attending a poetry conference (he was a poet and a scholarship was announced in his memory) and talked.

I got home before Charlie's bus came and have been focusing on doing the daily things with Jim and him. Jim has even mentioned that loaded word -- 'airport' -- and while we were driving in the car to NJ horse country for a Saturday morning bike ride. Charlie just kept sitting. I'm thinking, the best way to handle my departure and being gone is to be as nonchalant as possible.

Though I do have to cut up about a dozen apples and leave them in the refrigerator.