On the Menu

First things first: Luke won a blue ribbon in a little kata tournament at his karate class tonight. I was so proud of him because 1) He was so obviously, truly, best in his class; 2) He has been working SO hard for this; and 3) He really needed a little boost. Look at how proud he is.

Second, I need a serious answer: How can you not smile when you see this cute Zach face? He and I have been making the rounds of playgrounds around town in our down-time. He invented a special hide-and-seek game that we like to play, and at this particular moment he was in "hiding," hoping not to be seen.

We are headed to San Diego for the weekend for yet another totally kid-driven adventure (what other kind is there, really?). Zach and I are going to do the hotel and railroad museum, while Luke and Dave are going on...an overnight on an aircraft carrier! Yep, you heard that right.

Now imagine, if you're an 8-year-old boy, what your biggest concern would be if you were about to sleep on an aircraft carrier. Where do I sleep? What will it look like? Who will be there? Nope. One of Luke's older pals who had done the sleepover before happened to mention that for breakfast they served pancakes wrapped around applesauce, and this small piece of information has taken on a life of its own for Luke. Anytime anyone mentions the aircraft carrier, all he can think about is the pancake with applesauce and how he's not sure if he's going to like it.

I have tried reasoning with him. "It's an aircraft carrier, Luke. Don't you think they serve more than one thing for breakfast day in and day out, year after year?"

To which Luke made up his own little joke about what happens when you get to the mess hall on the aircraft carrier: They hand you a piece of paper that says, "Menu: #1. Pancakes with applesauce." - and that's it. Then you go for lunch and they hand you another piece of paper: "Menu: #1. Pancakes with applesauce." And so on for each meal.

Truthfully, I don't know what they're going to be eating, and I don't care much, because I think once they get there the magnitude and grandeur of it all will overwhelm him. On the other hand, maybe that's just an 8-year-old's way of dealing with something so enormous - to just take the tiniest little piece of information and obsess over it.

Either way, I know one thing for sure, and that is that Zach and I will be eating fish, chicken nuggets, and matzoh ball soup until it's coming out of our ears.