Birthday Lunch hosted by The Son

     We just got back from celebrating my husband's birthday. He asked our son to take him to his favorite seafood restaurant. DH drove hubby, myself and my youngest daughter down by the Greater Egg Harbor Bay. We sat by a big fireplace at a wooden table that was dimly lit with a ship's lantern.

     All of the food was fresh and just wonderful but the best part was just being together as a happy family. We used to spend most weekends together on a boat in this area when the kids were little before the toubles began. They had a lot of good memories from thier childhoods which they shared. We laughed and talked the whole time.

    At the end of the meal, I pulled out my wallet to pay for myself and my daughter who had already taken Daddy to lunch on another day. My son insisted that he would pay for the entire bill and he did.
At lunch he told us about his serious attempts to look for a full time job. He currently works full time hours but is only considered seasonal so he does not get benefits.  He also told me that he realizes that he must protect himself from the big medical expenses that will come his way on his next birthday when he will no longer be on my insurance. Today it seemed like he is finally maturing. I remembered how sweet it is to be a normal family. We had a great time. Addiction only came up  once when we all chimed in at once......'let's change that subject right now" and then proceeded to focus our attention on the good times.