Another Lost Evening

Yet again, I fell asleep early and didn't wake up from my evening "nap" until after 11PM. Too late to get anything real done other than eating a snack, messing around on the computer, and watching television. All of which is fine, but it would have been nice to have done something more productive, like sanding the half-finished cabinet sitting in the garage or actively straightening up the house. Instead, I am blogging and finishing off a bowl of Puffins, my son's favorite new cereal. I'm eating them dry as to avoid the backlash of lactose intolerance (again, assuming that I am).

We had Thai for dinner, taking Noah to Sakoontra. Things went unbelievably well and we will definitely head back there. Noah is often a problem in restaurants and we've come to rely on only going to places that we know work for him. "Work for him" means that there is enough going on to distract him, no major problems with the stuff on the table or objects within reach, acceptance on the part of the restaurant staff and guests for children, and food that he can and will eat. This means we go to Red Robin a lot, but we also frequent our local sushi extravaganza, Todai. Ruby Tuesday's is a good place for him as well since I can hit the salad bar and get him some snacks immediately. Sakoontra doesn't have a kid's menu, but their appetizers work for kids and we got Noah the Chicken Satay Skewers, which he really enjoyed. It was partly the peanut sauce he got to dip everything in, but he also loved having sticks all to himself. He spent most of his meal with a skewer in eat hand, alternating between nibbling on each one. He also ate some of Audrey's Panang Chicken Curry and finished off some rice too. I am amazed at this, frankly. I was never exposed to that kind of food when I was a kid, so it seems crazy to me that he likes it. Thai food is great, though, so I'm glad we can go somewhere that we can all enjoy.

He got a little nutty at the end, so Audrey took him to the sports store next door to look at bicycles. By the time I joined them, he was in full mode freakout, running around like a maniac and trying to grab everything. Sometimes he just wants to touch everything, which is pretty normal for his age. Couple that with it being the end of the day and we were bound to have trouble. He just gets unhinged at the end of the day, becoming less patient, less willing to listen to us, and less able to control his wants and desires. So, he didn't want to try on any sneakers and the evening ended with me chasing him across the store.

It was a good day, all in all. Audrey got back from Seattle this morning and things could be heating up for us. Of course, she needs to get an offer first, but we are definitely open to making the move if the stars line up. It is a place that we have always liked (okay, I think Audrey loves it there) and we have talked about living there someday. I'd be perfectly happy to stay here in the DC Metro area, even in this same house we are in, but Seattle might be a better cultural fit for us. Liberal, non-churchgoing types who are a bit more laid back, a bit more culturally experienced, and just generally more open to alternative stuff. Of course, Seattle is the birthplace of some of our favorite music and coffee is plentiful out there, but it is also a place that seems full of possibilities for an ideal life. Maybe we can move into the city and become the hipster parents we sometimes think we might be. Of course, we could stay here and continue to evolve into the dorky suburbanites that I think we are as well.

I am excited about the prospect. I think I can find work out there, although I may also be able to keep my current job. I'm not wedded to it and won't feel too bad if they decide that it would be better to sever ties. That would just give me the opportunity to get us settled in and to think about my next move. I could renovate an old house for us or go back to school and follow my dream of opening my own restaurant someday. Or, maybe I go down another path entirely. Again, I just think that Seattle is full of possibilities for us and might be the best place for us to carve out a life. All this optimism aside (and without getting too ahead of myself...she still hasn't gotten the job offer), I am very concerned about moving so far from friends and family. The vast majority of our friends live here, my sister lives here, and our families are not that far a ride from here. Moving to Seattle would mean only seeing family a few times a year and would probably require that we fly east, whether it be to NJ or FL. Seeing friends here would be even tougher and we'd probably have to make a trip back to DC periodically as well. We've lived in the area for 8 years now and have built some strong relationships, obviously. It would be hard to start over and we'd only have two couples as friends. Of course, both are married and one is expecting a child any day now, so it would work nicely. But, we can't exactly expect these people to just accept us into their social networks. We'd have to go make friends again...ugh.

I feel like a lot of people have assumed we'd stay here and have included that assumption in some of their plans. My parents moved to Florida a long time ago and I have never made a commitment to them to stay in this area, but I think it would upset them if we move. Even our potential move to Boston last year made them nervous. My grandparents, who can still drive to our house in an afternoon, would be disappointed and we'd rarely see them if we go. I don't think they've assumed anything, though, and they'd probably be supportive of us. My sister certainly included other things in her decision to move to DC, like it being the city with the best law school willing to accept her, but she always says she wants to be close to family and considers it important that she lives near us. Besides, she is great with Noah. Now, my younger sister is talking about moving here after she finishes undergrad, in part because we live here. I don't want to call it pressure to stay, but I do feel the weight of their expectations and I'd feel guilty if we moved. But, I'm also not willing to give up on opportunity simply because other people's plans don't fit ours. We can always buy them plane tickets...