On the Mend

It seems that the worst is over -- we had a quiet weekend as Sean recuperated from his end-of-summer illness. He was feverish and lethargic for most of the weekend, but other than throwing up on Sunday morning hasn't had too much GI upset.

Yesterday was Jeff's birthday. It's been a bittersweet day for the past 4 years; it marks the anniversary of a horrific tragedy, but it's still Jeff's day, too. And Jeff is generous about allowing us to extend the celebratory period to encompass his entire birthday week. This year Jeff had wanted to spend the afternoon at a local historical park, but with Sean's illness we thought it best to stay close to home. Sean was well enough last evening that we could still go through with the little outing I had planned -- dinner with Jeff's brother, his wife, and a friend at an actual restaurant without children. My nephew babysat (and, apparently, earned his money since Sean had a few messy potty accidents!).

It's a good thing that the dinner worked out, for my actual present was a huge dud. Jeff can be a little hard to buy presents for, and this year I was stymied. I settled on a fall jacket, an idea that worked well in theory. After tearing through the mall with Allie on Sunday, though, the only remotely passable jacket I found wasn't even something I liked. Nor, apparently, was it Jeff's cup of tea. At least Gap has a good return policy.