Happy Birthday to Me

This past Wednesday was my birthday. Unfortunately I am still fighting this virus so it was a pretty uneventful affair. My boys took me out for birthday lunch and ice cream, which was great. I did take the boys to a new park to play in the morning. Washington Park is a huge park with some awesome playground equipment. When we got there it was pretty early so it was very quiet and peaceful - we even saw two deer come out of the woods. There were lots of adults out walking and biking on the path but not many kids. It wasn't long though before a school of kids showed up, apparently on a field trip. They came in swarms. My first instinct was to pack up the boys and run. I do not enjoy crowds as a general rule, and trying to keep track of my two guys in the middle of one is stressful. Clark, however, has some serious Stewart blood in him. He immediately joined in the chaos, jumping in line with the kids and playing with them on the equipment. I love that he has that kind of confidence and loves to be in the middle of things. It is hard for me to understand because it is so counter to how I think and feel, so I am kind of in awe of him. It ended up being a fun morning and we stayed there until lunchtime.

Josh had a meeting that evening so I took the boys and we checked out the Family Video. I remember as a child going with my Mom and Dad on a Friday night to check out a movie at Blockbuster. It used to be a big deal to pick out a movie - especially to run and see if they were out of a new release you were hoping to get. Katie and I rented many a Lovely Lady Locks when we were young, and I am convinced that we were the only two people in the world to watch that show. Whenever I mention it to anyone they look at me like I am nuts. Anyway, I have not seen a movie store like that in business in years. I thought they were all closed, until we got to Springfield. They have Family Video stores everywhere. So we went in and checked it out. It was fun for me to share that experience with the boys. In a fortunate turn of events (in other words, it being my birthday and Lance getting a pink gumball from the machine thanks to a kind stranger) all three of us were able to walk out with a free movie rental.

It has been a survival mode kind of week for our family. Josh has been very busy at work and I have been sick so we are just taking it day by day. Today we did some cleaning because I am so desperate to feel better I will do anything that might help. As it turns out I may have been onto something. I dusted the ceiling fans for the first time and - in the words of Jesse Katsopolis - "Have mercy!"