So, I went to work this morning for a few hours, and it was uneventful. I mean, I answered a few support emails, caught a few friends wishing me well on IM, and that sort of thing. Then I ran some errands with Heidi and the kids culminating in a trip to Chipotlé.

I can’t say enough good things about Chipotlé. The first time I went there, I had the consummate consumer food experience. You’re greeted by an excellent façade, first off — all curvy plaster with metal accents. Very clean and distinctive. When you open the doors, the aroma wafts over you in perfectly-grilled waves. Then you make your way to the ordering station and you see the menu for the first time. A wondrous example of interface flow, you are invited to select the meat or vegetarian foundation of your burrito, or taco, or, for those with big appetites but small mouths, a burrito bowl. The meat sets the price. All you have to do is select what else goes inside this delectable assemblage. When they reach the end, the workers deftly roll the burrito then wrap it in swanky textured aluminum foil. You give the nice person at the register your money, and you find a nice quiet place to tuck in to your burrito that’s just about the size of your head.

I love Chipotlé.

I spent the rest of the afternoon doing nothing in particular with my family, and nothing in particular was exactly what I wanted to do. It was a perfect day of uneventfulness.

As a kid, I moved a lot. I’ve lived in almost as many places as I am years old, and the moves would invariably coincide with the beginning of a new school year. Since my birthday was always a couple of days before the new school year, it was something of a portent of change, and often not a particularly happy reminder of the reality of my vagabond family. Since I’ve been with Heidi, that’s changed.

I’ve had a stable home and family. Yes, we’ve moved a couple of times, but it’s been when we needed to, and not necessitated by adherence to the pleasure of outside forces. And even though we have moved, we’ve always been grounded in each other. Now my birthday is nothing special, and as my youngest daughter gets older, the day itself will soon be eclipsed by her birthday a few days later, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Sometimes I’m asked how things are going? What’s new? How’s life? I think for a moment that perhaps there should be something monumental to report, but then I step back and realize that there’s not — not really. Emy’s still teething. Christopher is going to formally start his home school year. Moira can jump consistently with both feet off the ground. Bennett can dance and sing Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes wearing nothing but a diaper and standing on a kitchen stool. But that is something.

All these little moments string together into something momentous that often defies comprehension during the moments themselves, but when taken as a whole, you can look back and say, “Hey, that’s a nice life.” And that’s all right with me.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 24th, 2007 at 8:11 pm and is filed under Family. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.