Back in Time

The three days in my college town were good for the three of us.

The kids have become tradition-mongers.  Every enjoyable thing we do together must be repeated. Every year. Gettysburg. DC. Hershey Park. Mt. Gretna. And much of what we do there must be repeated as well.  At the ripe old ages of 13 and 14 they have "old haunts."  It cracks me up that they look forward to some very simple things. I am almost afraid to explore their attachment. It could be enlightening and heartwarming and make me feel validated as a mother. It could be insipid and infuriating and make me want to put a fork in my eye. What if they said "We'd rather do this stupid activity than that other snoozefest you tried to get us to do last summer." 

It snows. We take loads of pictures. We eat comfort food in some familiar places and try a few new places we swear we'll return to again.  We shop. We meet and chat for hours with shopkeepers.  Anthony and his life partner Anthony have a delightful boutique.  Hil buys a dress Anthony says she simply must try on with her exquisite coloring and beautiful shape, OH-TO-BE-THAT-AGE! I buy a bracelet made by a local artist and Anthony tells us her story. He brings me a steaming cup of coffee made from beans that The Other Anthony expertly roasted himself and tells me a story about Salvador Dali's house.  His uncle lived near him in Spain and the tour of the house inspired the creative flair Anthony clearly has.  All this because I asked about a piece of art hanging behind the counter where Anthony buzzes about joyfully remarking on this and that and telling Pat all about the old fashioned razor and the lovely wallets and cool henna tattoos on display on the one or two shelves devoted to men's accessories. Flailing a handful of tags on little strings as he does.

And all the while, Craig touches base. But not much.  I text more. The texts take on about a 4 to one ratio.  Mine are about 10-15 words each. His are no more than 5. Most are closer to two. As good as I felt as the weekend with him ended, it can turn that quickly to confusion.  I realize I have no idea what he's thinking.  Some of what he does is so warm and intimate. Like he wants me to really get to know him. Other things he does leave me feeling like he'd like to keep a little distance between us. 

And all the while, I am getting texts from Scott.