Fish chowder, a blankie, the Max cave and other self-medicating stuff

Max cried when we got home from the Jersey Shore on Saturday night. It's a tradition in our family, the sign of a great vacation. Typically, Max would just mope around for the next few days and repeatedly ask when he was going back. But Max has matured and this boy knew just what would make him feel better—a truly useful life skill. 

It started before we even left our beach condo. Max insisted on bringing home the blanket he'd been using that week, a new white cotton number. Max is not usually one to have an attachment to things. This used to worry me when he was little, because everything worried me when he was little—I didn't get why he didn't have a favorite stuffed animal. And now, at 17, he finally had a blankie, a memory of the good times we'd had during our trip. We took it home on Saturday. 

On Sunday, for breakfast Max wanted the same kind he'd been having at the shore: a cherry cheese Danish. We'd been going to a local bakery that makes great apple turnovers, and it turns out Max has a thing for cherry cheese Danish. So Dave googled and found a bakery in a town near our house known for theirs, and off they went. Afterward, Max sat on his iPad checking out houses for sale at the Jersey Shore. 

Lunchtime? Only fish chowder would do~ Off went Max, Dave and Dave's dad, in search of seafood that tasted like vacation. It was a true happy meal. 

In the afternoon, Max retired to his Max cave—aka our basement—where he likes to chill out with his iPad. I didn't ask what he was watching but I'll bet anything there was some fantasy beach home browsing. He emerged a couple of hours later in time for an evening BBQ. Dessert was key lime pie, courtesy of Sabrina, who had her own desire to keep the vacation vibes going. 

Max crashed in our basement last night. (Not pictured: his blankie, which was in the wash.) I went down at 11:15 to toss laundry into the dryer and he was still up, determined to stay on his vacation scheduled despite the fact that today he went back to virtual school. 

"I'm still on vacation!" Max said.

I wasn't going to tell him otherwise. I tucked him in, turned off the light and went back to reality.