My less-sick kid on Christmas Day. He handed out presents while his sister moaned and groaned (and cried).

First off my apologies for not posting this week (I predated a post I did today over at the J43 website; excuse the duplicity, but I’m coming clean now). I never really enjoy the holidays, but this year was particularly bad because both my kids got sick. My son was mostly better by Christmas Day, but my daughter was miserable, making me miserable in return. Add to this that my parents were in from out of town and the fact that I was working Christmas Day, and there just was little to no time to blog this week.

That said, I’m trying to get back on schedule with my writing. And everything else. Both kids are on the mend and we’re slowly easing back into our routines (with school out another few days for my son and several weeks for my daughter, what form that routine takes remains to be determined). I plan on doing a New Year’s resolutions post on Monday, and I already know what I’m going to write about on Tuesday (New Year’s Day). I even know what I’m writing tomorrow. That leaves only Sunday, and today, of course.

So, here are the highs and lows of the week.

Lowest point—My daughter and I getting into it Christmas morning. She felt like crap and I was busting my ass. My parents don’t relate to how we relate (more on this tomorrow), so it was a particularly awful part of the day.

Highest point—Ironically enough, working Christmas Day. I made a decent chunk of change (not as much as I would have liked), got to hang out with beer friends, and didn’t have to cook. By that point my son was well enough that I wasn’t stressing about whether or not he was okay at home (my sick daughter spent the day in bed but was there in case of an emergency).

Next lowest point—Not being able to give away (or sell) my extra ticket to Peter and the Star Catchers, which was particularly unfortunate seeing as we had third row seats. Oh, well, we had plenty of room for our coats. My son enjoyed it, my father less so, and I really think my daughter would have loved it if she wasn’t home with a fever approaching 104.

Next highest point—My son’s birthday went surprisingly well. I didn’t tell the ex that my folks would be there (everyone “got along surprisingly well for our family,” as my daughter—who is pretty much recovered—put it). My son said it was his best birthday ever.

The rest of the low—Cooking Christmas Eve Dinner. I didn’t really feel like cooking at all; I was completely stressed out from the kids being sick. As a result, I paid a small fortune on prepared food (and, if you regularly read this blog, you know that means from the local butcher and not the frozen food section of the grocery). On an up note, $200 buys a lot of prepared grass-fed meat and organic veggies.

The rest of the high—I went on a date. Yes. It’s true. I met a guy through OK Cupid and, ironically, he seems okay. Which is a rare breath of fresh air in my dating experience. I don’t want to bash every guy (because many of them are very straight forward about what they’re looking for—i.e. NSA sex—and I’m completely fine with that agenda, even if I choose not to participate every time it’s offered), but I am looking forward to getting to know the new fella better and have modest hopes for seeing a lot of him in 2013.