Fantasizing about family in town

My mother is messing with me. She asked me to check out a couple of vintage condos here in Oak Park and reignited my hope that she and her husband will move here--at least part time. (I say reignited because she had me looking at condos at the height of the housing bubble and nothing came of it.)

One of the properties was a winner, a well-priced 3 bedroom unit in the historic Decker building that boasted all the original tile, bathroom fixtures and kitchen cabinets. Plus some squishy carpeting and hideous old lady furnishings.

Hello, look at the sink faucet handles? Have you ever seen these outside of the movies?

Honestly, I don't know how serious my mom is about moving close by, but I spent all weekend fantasizing about weekly family dinners and kid-Grandma sleepovers. I dreamed of meeting up with Mom at the Farmers Market and taking in concerts in the park. I imagined her joining us at Z's preschool graduation picnic, meeting us at Temple and picking Z up from swim camp. And yes, I fantasized about that holy grail of family in town: free babysitting.