It is becoming apparent that I am not the only one who feels that I should be all completely recovered and life should be back to normal. My 8-year-old son, Jasper, is getting a bit tired of Daddy being tired. I mean, sure, I’m still playing with him some, and I’ve done a few bedtimes in the last week. But he gets caught off guard when for some reason I need to take a nap during the day, or if I suddenly decide I can’t go to the big outdoor school festival first thing Saturday morning. These things catch me off guard, too, of course. But I am slowly coming to grips with the whole non-linear recovering concept. A concept, I believe, that can really only be grasped by those at least several years removed from Elementary school.

He drew me the greatest card the other day, as I chose to sleep in all the way up to when he had to leave for school. Across the top is the standard “GET WELL SOON!” The illustration, though, is far from standard. He drew a very unique structure floating in some water, and for clarity’s sake he labeled it the “get well battle ship.” Above it is what at first glance appears to be the sun, but is actually a radiating and smiling heart (also labeled). To the right of the page are some angry little buggers, with mean eyes and sharp teeth, waving their swords at the oncoming ship. And again, in case you couldn’t figure it out, they are labeled the “surgery germs.” Obviously, the battleship is using the power of the heart to battle the surgery germs.

My favorite part is the one surgery germ closest to the ship. He has X’s for eyes and his tongue is sticking out, as obviously the Get Well Battleship has already knocked him out cold. One down, three to go.

In that light, maybe he does have a better idea of how long this whole get well thing is going to take.