DS and I went to the beach for a long, and much needed, weekend. A change has come over my child, he's maturing in a way I never thought would come about. Instead of wanting to splash in the waves and build sand castles, he wanted to just sit on the beach, read his book, and watch other people. OK, so his "other people" was the teenage cabanna girl in the turquoise bikini who he thought was the only girl who looked good in a bikini on the entire beach, but still, it's a change. I have a buddy where I once had a baby.

While having lunch in our favorite restaurant, he turned to me and said "Mom, I wouldn't mind having a boat some day". Me either, kiddo. About that time, the most beautiful sailboat floated past, the sails tall and perfectly white. I sighed and watched it quietly sail past. "Kiddo", I said, "there was a time when I would have sold my soul for a boat like that. I wouldn't mind having a friend who owned a boat like that, but now, there are more important things in life I want." I sighed again. "Like what?" he asked. Well...

See that big family over there? There are brothers and sisters, the parents, babies, cousins...they're laughing and happy, they're bonded together, they're sharing a meal that will never be forgotten. I want that.

See that elderly couple walking out? They must be close to their 80's. See how they're holding hands like they're a couple of teenagers? Look at him, his clothes don't exactly match, and he's wearing dress socks with his sneakers. But she doesn't mind, she loves him the way he is, and has for many, many years. And he loves her for loving him and not nagging him and trying to change him. I want that.

The kid didn't say much, just sort of nodded in a way that made me wonder if he understood. We finished our meal and decided to walk along the dock towards the little maritime memorial park. There was a middle aged couple sitting in the gazebo watching the boats, we joined them. DS looked over at the waterfront mansions and said "Mom, some day I'm going to buy you a house like that" and he pointed to a huge white house with purple shutters, a house clearly big enough for the Brady Bunch and then some. "You always wanted a house like that on the beach, didn't you?" he asked. I sighed again. "Yeah, kiddo, I did" I replied.

About that time, 3 teenage boys and a slightly younger girl came bounding up to the couple sitting with us. One of the boys announced to "Dad and Karen" that they wanted to get an ice cream cone. Both adults reached for their wallets and the dad said "don't worry honey, I got it" to his wife. He handed the boys some bills and they started off. The girl sat down next to "Karen" who said "don't you want to go with the boys?" "Nah" she replied, "I'd rather stay here with you and Bill". Karen tried to convince her to go for ice cream to no avail. I caught Karen's eye and smiled, she smiled back and said "we're on our honeymoon...sorta!" I chuckled. My chuckle brought DS back to reality and he asked what was so funny, so I explained to him that they were on their honeymoon and brought their kids and, well, a honeymoon wasn't always a good place to have kids around. He grinned, blushed a little, and started watching the boats again.

We sat there for a while just enjoying life. Karen and Bill decided to go see what was taking the boys so long. As they got up, I caught Karen's eye again and smiled. "Congratulations" I said, "I wish you all the happiness in the world!" She smiled and thanked me, Bill put one arm around her and one around the little girl and said "I don't think I could be much happier than I am now, but thank you", and off they went.

Somehow, a few tears started to leak out of my eyes. I looked at DS and said "I want that". He nodded.

As we got up to leave, DS put his arm around me, something he never does. Despite the heat and humidity, it felt nice. I know life doesn't ask you what you want, it just gives you what you need, so I may never have a sailboat, or a house on the beach, or big family reunions, or a companion I adore, but I will always have this child. No, I will always have this young man...and, right now, that's enough.