anchored

Dave called me on Monday from his cell phone; he had finished his meeting with the group at Marsha's beach house, then he took part in a conference call, which he did sitting on the beach with his toes in the sand. I ask you, is this a guy who could live anywhere but the beach?

We had gone through a whole period where we thought we were on the brink of selling our house; now it looks like we might be able to stay, at least for the forseeable future or at least until we have more additional kids than can fit in Luke's tiny bedroom. But if we left, where would we go? Affordability issues aside, are our roots in this little town so strong that we wouldn't want to be anywhere else?

A quick aside - Usually when I get on the computer in the morning it's on Dave's side and I get to see the last thing he was working on. I've been chuckling to myself every time I see that he's been researching the biological/chemical origins of life, while I'm gearing up to read celebrity fashion commentary. But Sunday morning I was a little jarred to get on the computer and see that the Moorestown weather forecast was the last thing he looked at. Are we getting at something here? (And yes, I know that Haddonfield is so cute you could pinch it.)

Then there was the astonishing revelation from Suzi and Bill that if Dave's parents were no longer part of the picture at some point, they would follow us wherever we went. Whatever anchors them to where they are now is not as strong as the pull of family, or Luke, and whomever else might come along. Whoa.

What anchors Luke? Up until yesterday, one thing was the absolute certainty that no matter how early he woke up in the morning, his mom would always be there to meet him. But he's clearly learned to be adaptable on that conviction. Yesterday I was in the shower, so Dave trudged in there to get him, and Luke was actually willing to cook at the Diaper Grill while patiently waiting for me to finish my makeup and dry my hair. Then when he finally heard the hair dryer switch off, he wasted no time asking for "Money miiiiiiiiiiilk!"

Other Luke convictions:

That when it's time to cook something, anything, "First, you crack eggs."
That when you're visiting a duckpond, a "reed" is NOT the same as a "weed" - Got that, mommy?
That all humans have an inalienable right to wear pajamas at least until after breakfast.
That for any sort of musical entertainment, the song people will always want to hear first is "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."
That if you count to ten, you don't really need six. I mean, come on. Six?
That if something is broken, all it takes is a few rounds with a chainsaw and a hammer to fix it.
That everyone cries when he or she gets a haircut, but once they get a cookie they feel better.
That British people are hilarious for saying, "Cheerio!" I mean, they might as well be saying "Waffle!" or "Yogurt" - which are both pretty funny too, you have to admit.
That everything is funnier when you're running around naked.

What more do you need to be sure of in life?