I had absolutely the sweetest loveliest day in Baltimore this weekend. Aimee, Jared, the boys, Sylvie and I all went down to the waterfront of Baltimore and took on the heat and humidity of the post-hurricane eastern seaboard in perfect American style.  The boys played in the little ground fountains near the aquarium, enjoying every moment of freedom the rest of us are so rarely afforded to frolic through  water fully clothed. You do that as a grownup and you’re nuts. Which is why Zeke so wisely promised his mother that he would stay three forever. 

He later changed his mind, reneging on the solemn mother-son oath, because he wanted to grow up and make money.  “how do you plan to make money?”  “buying cars.”  “how do make money buying cars?”  The answer was rather incoherent, but it did include sound effects and imaginary cars zooming off my perfectly ramp shaped cast into air and crashing to their deaths.  Sounds like most MBA business plans I heard in college, actually.

I then had the glorious opportunity of trying Rita’s custard shack on the waterfront, which is a kind of sweet succulent ambrosia one should never miss when one is in a 10 mile radius of Baltimore.  We all got various flavors of a thing called they call gelati, which is a tangy sweet flavored slushee on the bottom and then a rich wonderful vanilla custard on top.  The custard is so ridiculously creamy that it actually doesn’t seem cold when you eat it, it just tastes velvety and smooth.  Over the top of the slushy, it’s all your favorite things about frozen treats that there ever were to have. 

We explored some of the outlying parts of the waterfront and discovered a beautiful antebellum lighthouse, and finally sat down to very affordable, fresh and delicious Asian restaurant overlooking the water.

Throughout all of this, we just watched the boys exert insane amounts of energy, had very pleasant talks, and googooed over the most perfectly behaved sparkly-eyed baby you’ve ever seen.  Sylvie is so sickeningly smiley and pleasant, and her perfectly bald head so flawless and delicious.  It’s still a bit of a daze to finally have these precious little girl babes in the family to go nuts over!

It was exactly the day I needed, after a week of horrors at work, and already a week of job-related horrors ahead.  I need to know that I’m not completely alone on this massive strip of east-coast-o-centric land that separates the old world from the rest of America.  I need to know that when thousands of strangers that shuffle by me on the streets in their suits and narrowed ambitions, there are people out there with whom I figure in.  I feel so lucky to figure in with people like Aimee and Leo and Zeke.  I love you!