A Fun Friday

Finally.

It has seemingly been a month in the making...a weekend where we did not have to make any last-minute trips to the doctor, pick up any prescriptions at CVS, or stay close to home for fear of one of our beloveds decorating our car with vomit. Everyone seems (fingers still crossed) to be on the mend. Andres has resumed his...well, his "regularly-scheduled programming", Celia's nose now drips 99% clear fluid, and most of the toys in our house were treated to a nice bleach bath. Onwards and upwards.

This past week was a trying one, as it was school vacation week. This meant that Natalia was stuck at home with the two patients--unable to see many friends for fear of contamination and unable to go outside for fear of black ice and frostbite.

The weather (and illnesses) seemed to break late in the week, and we treated ourselves to at least one fun day of vacation by heading to Johnny's (Newton) Luncheonette for Friday breakfast, followed by a trip to the Yawkey Way Store to stock up on Red Sox gear.

The combination of activities was set in motion by a couple of Groupons that Natalia bought a while back. I'm not much of a Grouponer (or even a couponer, for that matter) myself, partly because I don't quite understand the concept of spending some money to save money. But this also comes from a guy who has 2 pairs of pants that actually fit and spends more on cleats than on dress shoes...so take that for what it's worth. (That said, my cleats are fantastic, and I could probably de-stud a couple of them if I ever needed a showy pair of boots for a stroll down the red carpet.)

So off we went--Friday morning we packed up a diaper bag, donned our rain jackets, and headed to Newton Center for breakfast. I'm not sure how many times we have gone out to eat, just us 4...I could probably count them on one hand. It was a fun change of pace. Eating with kids is a different restaurant experience than eating with friends. It is certainly less relaxing, and your friends probably eat what they order (Andres wanted the french toast, and then upon delivery decided he really didn't want french toast after all...he was distracted by a Tomy water basketball toy from the 1980s that must have seemed like a fossil). Natalia and I both ate well and the kids behaved themselves well enough that we were not put on the "do not seat in the future" list. And--bonus!--we essentially paid half-price for breakfast because of the Groupon. Natalia 1, me 0.

From there we drove into Fenway to give Messrs Henry, Lucchino, and Werner some of our hard earned dollars. Two minutes after stepping into the Yawkey Way Store Andres said to me, "Daddy I have to pee." No problem, I thought, this is Friendly Fenway, so there will be a bathroom around. I walked up to one of the cashiers who, about 40 minutes later, would gladly take my hard-earned money.

Me: "Excuse me, can you tell me where the bathroom is?"
Cashier: "No public bathrooms."
Me: "It's for my son--he has to go."
Cashier: "No bathrooms here, you can try Boston Beerworks."
Me: [Stunned silence.]

[Leave Yawkey Way Store, holding a heavy three-year old, run through the rain to Beerworks. Find Beerworks closed at 11 am on a Friday. Aha! Fenway Ticket Office is open. Run back across the street to Fenway Ticket Office.]

Me: "Excuse me--sorry to bother you. My son has to use the bathroom. Can you tell me where it is?"
Ticket agent: "Sorry we don't have a bathroom here."
Me: "Seriously you don't have a bathroom? It's for my son--he's recently toilet trained. It's not for me."
Ticket agent: "Because of all the construction our bathrooms are out of order."
Me: "Ok, so, if you had to urinate, where would you go?"
Ticket agent: "Probably one of the restaurants down the street."

[Leave Fenway Ticket Office, holding a very heavy three-year old, run through the rain back to the Yawkey Way Store, figuring I'll try there again. Run into a tour guide.]

Tour guide: "Are you here for the tour?"
Me: "No, I'm trying to find a bathroom before my son pees all over me."
Tour guide: [Whispering] "If I were you I'd just take him in the alley over there."

[Leave Yawkey Way Store, holding a very very heavy three-year old, run through the rain to a seemingly-abandoned alleyway, see a car coming towards me, worry that I am about to be brought up on child endangerment charges if I follow the tour guide's advice, grab Andres again, run down Brookline Avenue through the rain to Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant, find the restaurant and the bathroom open, and then success! My boy has a strong bladder.]

Only 20 minutes after asking the nice cashier about the bathroom, we return to the Yawkey Way Store drenched but relieved. Fenway sure is friendly.

Despite that annoyance we bought some good stuff...a Wally shirt and a Sox hat for Celia, a Dustin Pedroia shirt for Andres, and a retro-logo cap for me. The sticker shock was mitigated somewhat by the two Groupons that Natalia had purchased...it made us feel like we got a reasonable deal for the items, instead of the usual feeling of buyer's remorse that often strikes as soon as you leave that store. Natalia 2, me 0.

It was naptime when we got home.