Rachel did well after she warmed up to my dad and John. When we first arrived, my dad held her (John wasn't home yet) and she started screaming, as we both expected. So I took her back and calmed her down. Then he handed her a graham cracker which she took greedily. She kept turning so she could see him for about 5 minutes, just watching him. I could almost hear her thinking, "Who is this man? Why does he have hair on his face? And does he have any more of those crackers?" She didn't cry at all for him after that. John just sat on the floor near her and let Rachel come up to him. She did and they were fast friends the rest of the visit.
Spencer took no time at all getting reaquainted with my dad's house and went through every cabinet immediately. Then he saw my dad's pugs and was enraptured for the rest of the time we were there. He loves dogs! We got him some Cars cars and he had fun playing with them, as surprising as that seems ;o). He was feeding Lightening at dinner. And he slept with the King and Chick last night.
The drives either way weren't too bad. I think that I need to just stop once briefly. I've stopped often and for long times, and today I stopped just once briefly. I think today went better. Yeah, it sucks to be in the car for that long, but it's good to get home quicker.
Things with Mike and I are still strained. When I got home he asked me said that from now on he should go down there with us. Because I seem to always get mad at him when I go. He thought I was upset because he got a few days off and I didn't. Not quite. So I explained (again) why I'm upset with him. He was totally surprised. Apparently he has not noticed that I've not been talking to him nearly as much as usual these past few weeks. Whatever. He was making fun of me again tonight. I do not remember what for, though. I'm sure he doesn't even know he's doing it. Whatever. I told him that I'd like to get some couples counseling and he agreed. Now he's moping about how everything is his fault, and poor him. He tried to talk a bit and I resisted. I don't want to fall into the same pattern of him going off the deep end and wallowing in self-pity. Then I try to make him feel better by telling him that he's a great guy and there's really nothing wrong. Then we go on and nothing changes. So I just kept my mouth shut and didn't take the bait. It occurred to me that he knows what pushes my buttons and does it on purpose. Then I realized that he wouldn't give it that much thought lol. So he's upstairs feeling sorry for himself and I'm downstairs typing this and watching Pride and Prejudice. I'll call tomorrow and make us an appt for counseling. I love him so much, and I really missed him this weekend. I don't want to be at odds anymore.