June 27

Thankfully, I felt much, much better today. Almost normal, in fact. Double thankfully, no one else has shown any kind of indication that they're about to puke, so hopefully (oh, please God, please) we're in the clear.

This morning, we took a field trip to the playground with some good friends.

I know these guys have actually shown up in more than one entry this year. But that's the way it is with really good friends: they're always there. I'm thankful that my kids have friends like them to hang out with. And I'm grateful for their mom, Michelle, too (who isn't pictured because I don't think she'd appreciate me using a hastily snapped pic. At all). She's definitely one of my best friends. And it's a huge blessing to have them right down the street (even if we are completely lame and most of our communication happens via instant messenger. You can boo me).

The past few years have taught me that friends can really betray you in unexpected ways. That may seem like a gratuitously negative statement, but it's made me much more thankful for the great people who've stuck with me no matter what. And that's definitely a positive born of a big ol' negative.