Weekly Review 77

This week was filled with many moments. Some were fun, some were sweet, and some were the worst I’ve had so far this year, healthwise. Overall, it was a good week for our little family. Once again, it was filled with lots of love, specifically directed at Mr. O. With that being said, let me formally welcome you to the newest edition of my Weekly Review. I can’t wait to share my previous week with you!

On Monday morning, we were up with Mr. O. We were trying a different routine this time. We started his day with a bath, instead of ending with one. He wasn’t up for it at first, but then when we said he could have bubbles in the tub he wanted to jump right in. After I bathed him, I let him sit and play with his bubbles and his boats for a few minutes. He loves to pretend to be Spiderman and he pretends the bubbles on his hands are webs. We play and I pretend to be stuck on the wall while he shoots his “webs” at me, lol. He laughs hysterically every time. It’s the best.

After I started work, Lea took Mr. O to the dentist. He doesn’t like the dentist, but he tolerates her. I was told he wanted to show the dentist his new “sunnies” (sunglasses), and he wore them the whole time! Even while she was cleaning his teeth. They are shark sunnies, so they have teeth on the lens and fins on the sides. He thought she would clean his shark teeth too, but she didn’t. She did enjoy seeing the sunnies, though.

After work, I freshened up and we all hopped in the car and drove over to Cheers in Munster, Indiana. We were meeting my mom for dinner and, as most of my readers know, that’s our families go-to spot. Lately, I’ve been ordering their Greek chicken wrap. It’s so good. I don’t know what else is in there, but I think it’s mostly chicken (obviously), tomato’s, and feta cheese. I really love it. It might be my new go-to. Normally, I order a Cheers burger. Sometimes I like the steak sandwich. Now, my tastes have changed, so we will see how long this love for the wrap lasts. When we finished eating, we left Mr. O run out in the hallway for a little bit. Once he was tired enough to leave agreeably, we drove back home and finished the night with a few bedtime stories. Lea put him to bed this time. He wanted to read this Superman book about his dog, Krypto, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and this Dungeons & Dragons book that one of my friends bought for him.

While they were wrapping up Mr. O’s night, I was downstairs. It was time to quest! I logged on to Baldurs Gate 3 (BG3) and met up with my friends. Then, our squad continued our journey through the Underdark for the next few hours. It was a great and relaxing way to end the day.

On Tuesday I woke up congested again. I have a referral to an ENT (Ear, nose throat) doctor, I just have to make an appointment. I’ve been congested almost all winter long, and I never used to be. Maybe it’s because I’m a father to a toddler that goes to daycare, or maybe something has changed within me as I’ve aged. Either way, I’d like to figure out why I am constantly congested. It did not help that Mr. O was up at 3 AM again. However, I let him talk for a few minutes and then he went back to sleep, thankfully. He sleep talks to himself sometimes, Lol. This time, he was looking for this polaroid picture of me and him. We took that picture I think 2 years ago and he loves it. It sits in his room on his dresser, but lately he’s liked it in his bed with him.

Hours later, when we both woke up, we prepared ourselves for the day and went to my car. When I buckled him in, he looked up and said, “Hi, Jesus”. I was confused for a second, not that I don’t enjoy him talking to Jesus, but because I forgot I have this big Cross hanging from my mirror in my car, and in the middle is an icon of Jesus that he loves to look at. It was a really sweet moment, and it reminded me how sweet and innocent children are.

After I dropped Mr. O off at daycare, I had some time before work started. I drove to the Midwest Express Clinic right by our house, and thankfully they are lived up to the “Express” name. I was in and out within 20 minutes. They determined I had a sinus infection. As I said before, I am always catching something, and at least twice a year I get a sinus infection. I hope I can get this figured out. It’s the worst!

In the evening, Lea and Mr. O came home. Lea made us dinner and then we all relaxed for a bit before turning in early for the night. None of us were feeling well. Lea was dealing with a sinus infection also, so maybe it was normal for me to have one this time, but I swear I get them more than normal people!

On Wednesday I slept in. Waking up with an hour to spare before work started, I rushed to shower, eat, and sit with Mr. O for a few minutes. The workday stunk! What can I say? I could hardly breathe through my nose all day. To add to the congestion, my head was also feeling the pressure that a sinus infection brings, so it was an all-around bad work day, Lol. Sorry, I don’t mean to complain so much, but I just despise sinus infections.

In the evening, I relaxed all night with Mr. O. He wasn’t feeling great either. Lea was gone for a few hours due to a meeting she had, so it was just me and my boy laying on the couch watching cartoons. After he went to bed, I took a shower then hopped on a call. Every Wednesday, this Orthodox Christian men’s group that I am in tries to have a call, and this time we actually had it. Thankfully, I don’t have to participate if I don’t want to (which I didn’t), so I was able to lay in bed with my headphones in and listen. We discussed Saint John Climacus and his work, The Ladder of Divine Ascent. It was so interesting. Saint John, who was known as “Climacus” because of this book, was a seventh century monk at St. Catherine’s monastery at the base of Mount Sinai (Orthodox Wiki). The “Climacus” name was given to him due to the words meaning: Of the Ladder. I look forward to the next call!

On Thursday I woke up to Mr. O standing in front of me, on the side of my bed, in his Spiderman pajamas. He was “webbing” me! I pretended to be stuck to my bed and that my arms and legs were wrapped together with a spider web. He laughed and ran away screaming, “Bye, I love you, Dada!”. Lea then took him to daycare. The work day flew by, and then I went to get a haircut because my hair was disgustingly long (in my opinion). When I came home, Lea was putting Mr. O down for the night, and it was time to quest! I turned on BG3 with my buddies and we battled this “Old Hag” (witch). Once we defeated her we searched her disgusting hideout for valuables. This game is so realistic and detailed, so when I say it was “disgusting” I mean it, Lol. My character, Squilliam the Sorcerer, got a new staff out of this little adventure. If I remember correctly, it casts some sort of spell that takes the oppnonents hit points away slowly throughout battle. Pretty neat!

I had Friday off from work. This is my third or fourth four-day-week in a row, I believe. Either due to illness, bank holidays, or vacation time. This Friday was for vacation time. We were heading down south to stay at my in-laws for the weekend and to celebrate Mr. O’s birthday with them. Lea drove on the way there, so I was in the back with Mr. O. I opened a snack I had brought for myself – an organic fruit twist. It was wildberry flavored, which I enjoy. I was trying to be nice and offer my son a bite because I know he also likes fruit twists. He accepted a bite and proceeded to pull the entire fruit twist out of the wrapper and kept it for himself. So, I only had one bite. There wasn’t much I could do about it. That’s what I get for being a great dad!

The rest of the drive went quickly (for us in the back anyway). Mr. O colored in his coloring book and I tried to write in my journal, but that wasn’t allowed by the boss. He wasn’t having it. I wasn’t allowed to do anything, read, write, listen to music with my headphones on, because 1. He did not like it and 2. He was asking me a million questions, which lead to me not being able to concentrate, Lol. It’s okay, though. I enjoy the farmland scenery on the drive. No, that is not sarcasm. I truly do think it’s beautiful. All the open farmland with the sun either behind or above it. Sometimes a few clouds in the sky. It looks like a painting.

When we arrived, I tried to lay down with Mr. O so he could nap before his birthday party. He didn’t want to, he was too excited. So we rested upstairs and watched the movie Lightyear (his new favorite). Then, we went back downstairs and played until Lea and her mom came back from the store. My father-in-law then asked if I wanted to tag along with him for an hour. We went to Menards so he could place an order and then went to visit one of his projects. He is building a new garage for one of his clients and wanted to check on it for a minute. When we came back, it was time to get ready for the party. Lea decorated and I entertained Mr. O until his cousins showed up. It was a good night.

On Saturday morning we watched Monsters University while we were getting ready to go to the children’s museum that is in town. It was a rainy day, but that was okay. It was a warm rainstorm. We met the rest of the family at the museum and the kids had a blast! Mr. O got to climb, drive a tractor and a combine harvester, dress up as a contruction worker and play with all the trucks, and even saw real butterflies. He did not want to leave. In the evening, Lea, Mr. O and I went to my brother-in-laws new house. Mr. O and I hadn’t seen it yet, so of course we had to go. It was beautiful, I really liked it. It was fun seeing the kids again too. Mr. O always has fun with his cousins.

An hour later we all met my in-laws at Applebee’s. It was a loud dinner because of the toddlers, but it was nice and it was fun. On Sunday we woke up, packed our stuff, and drove home. I drove this time. It was a beautiful drive again. Sunny, a little windy, and hardly any clouds. I turned on Pardon My Take and we were off! Well, we stopped at Dunkin Donuts, then we were off! Mr. O stayed awake the whole ride home and asked a ton of questions. “What that?” is mostly what was asked, Lol. Most of the answers were “That’s a wind turbine”.

Currenlty, Mr. O is napping, Lea went to the store, and I am writing this. It was a decent week (due to our illnesses I have a hard time saying it was a great week).

A Moment I’m Still Thinking About

I am still thinking about Mr. O’s sweet, high pitched voice, saying “Hi, Jesus” so innocently as we got in the car on Tuesday. It was just a beautiful moment and I hope we can raise him to continue to be like that. I want him to know Jesus and to love God. That little “Hi, Jesus” is reassuring that, so far, we are doing alright. We can always do better, but for now, we’re doing alright.

What moment from your week is still in your mind? Let me know in the comments!

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Peter