Our little brat Eric had about seven days of illness recently, four in declining and three in improving health.

Now that whatever bug caused the boy to get sick, has left his system, something else took its place. Now he smiles again. A lot. At us, at strangers, at cats, at airplanes, at things big and small. It is an infectious smile, one of the typical childhood epidemics that deserve more attention from the CDC than guns. Like a chuckling kid, a smiling happy one seems to pass on the good germs to those nearby, where smiles stay and spread.

It reminded me of this little note I passed around in university class many years ago. I must have found the text on Usenet somewhere; I’m recollecting from memory:

Hello, I am a space alien disguised as this sheet of paper. I am very friendly. In fact, I am making love to your hands as you’re holding me right now. I know you like it too because you’re smiling. When you’re done with me, pass me to someone else to enjoy.

One drawback of Eric’s restored health is that I won’t be able to reap one benefit I carefully sowed one day during his illness. I was taking time off work to look after the boy, to give Juimiin some rest. This particular rest interval she spent in the kitchen (?!). While she’s not a coffee drinker, I need one or two swags in the morning, and that morning I hadn’t yet had one. So I finally gave her these step-by-step instructions on how to make me the perfect little mug of coffee, if I happen to be busy with the boy at the time:

• Bring mug of water to rolling boil in microwave.
• Plop in a teaspoon or two of instant coffee into the mug. (I have no taste.) Watch for froth.
• Plop in a wee squirt of milk and a few morsels of sugar.
• Bring me the mug.

• Walk away slowly, subtly wagging that lovely hiney. (I have some taste.

In her moment of weakness (she has been a bit sick too), she consented to me sharing that description with the world. Expect never again to see such compliments of my lovely lady wife though. The other problem is that, now that the boy is well, she’ll just tell me to make my own damn fake coffee.