AJ and his dad are out washing the car. Although AJ loves anything to do with turning on the hose, he required some persuading to engage in this particular activity, as his primary association with the words �wash� and �car� in the same sentence is the feeling of abject panic that reduces him to a shaking, wailing mess while sitting in the neighborhood car wash.

Watching little moments like this � moments that also include him clambering into bed with us to watch Saturday morning cartoons and climbing up and down the bleachers at the local high school ball field during a baseball game � instills in me simultaneous sensations of familial bliss and a lack of recognition of my own life. I never expected to be living the suburban dream. It�s still not my dream and I fully expect to return to my senses and the city, hopefully in the not-so-distant future. But these manufactured moments have a certain appeal. They are stereotypical for a reason. I love seeing the two guys out squirting each other with the hose while one of them wriggles and giggles with glee.

We spent the morning driving around the insane summertime construction zone that is the road from our house to anywhere else. We visited my mother-in-law at her swanky rehab center. Seriously, aside from all the walkers and wheelchairs, this place looks like a nice hotel: beautiful gardens, a wood-paneled library, a dining room with tables covered in white linens and fresh flowers, and a spa. While it seems like an excellent thing to have recovery be so pleasant, I can�t help but wonder if the facilities create a lack of incentive to get better. My mother-in-law seems to be recovering extremely well and is almost pain-free now � an improvement over her pre-surgery state.

We also paid a visit to Glen Town Center, the �mixed use development� (translation: shopping mall with apartments over the stores and townhouses next door) built in and around the buildings of the former Glenview Naval Air Base. We were hoping we�d be able to see a little more of the bones of the old air base, but other than the control tower, which appears to have been converted into a book store, there�s not much evidence, at least of the part we walked. We did manage to enjoy some midday beer and Mexican food, though, before AJ staged a coup and would accept nothing but ice cream to placate him.

I am now looking at some serious gardening � it is sunny and cool and they finally sprayed for mosquitoes. I am hoping I can finally weed the flowerbeds along the stream without looking like a smallpox victim afterwards.

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