To Boldly Go ...

... and "go" is definitely the operative word.

We have been inside since midday Friday. There's only so much laundry you can do and so many movies you can watch and so much sleep upon which you might catch up before cabin fever sets in and you begin to wonder if there's anybody else left in the world besides you and the people in your house. It's not the best wonder there ever was.

Today is friend Harold's birthday, so Mark took the decision that he was going to go to the Hornets game with a bunch of the boys in celebration. I then took the decision that if he could go clear downtown, the children and I could surely make it out to the mall area for dinner! We all got bundled up snugly, I spent twenty minutes hacking ice off of the three-ton sport utility vehicle, and off to Red Lobster we went.

It was REALLY nice to go out. Kieran and Kendall were exceedingly well-behaved, and supper was great (mostly because I hadn't had to cook and wouldn't be doing the dishes). As a treat, we popped into Barnes and Noble on the way home (and yes, Mom, it really IS on the way home) to get some books to read since there's no school again tomorrow. We made it home safely (although we're still waiting for Daddy to return from downtown), and somehow it now seems like a good idea to go watch a movie!

Cabin fever ... it isn't just for "The Shining" anymore.