A study in the mundane. I now have a punch card for our neighborhood coffeeshop where a cup of coffee roasted in Oregon sells for $2 in the middle of Manhattan.
There are no Targets anywhere near us, so I found myself this afternoon in the basement of a Kmart a few blocks away shopping for Christmas gifts for Abe. It was crowded and claustrophobic. I started pushing the buttons on a NYC firetruck. A woman next to me asked if there was another, explaining that her 3-year-old son is begging her for firetrucks this year. I had in my hand the only one. She looked completely despondent. I handed her the toy, telling her that our son is only marginally interested in trucks. She asked, "Oh, well what is he into?" She raised her eyebrows when I said, "cooking." We laughed about how good it will be to encourage this in him, that his future spouse will thank me one day. Then she thanked me for the truck, and I wandered away, finding a kid-sized toaster oven and pizza making kit for my boy who really likes to cook.
I called my mom as I waited in line. I paid for my things and chatted with my mom on my walk home through streets that are still harboring enormous piles of dirty snow in the gutters. I had my messenger bag slung around my chest, a Kmart bag in one hand and my cellphone up to my ear with my other hand. If I hadn't been gushing about how much I love it here, how beautiful the central post office is, how I cried when I first glimpsed the Statue of Liberty from South Ferry, and how much I could see myself actually living here, I might have felt like a real New Yorker in that moment. It was a lovely moment, maybe my favorite so far.
3 comments:
I do believe it is magical to live in New York. Being a summer girl, I found myself amazed that I could love the city so much in winter. Around the first of February when I would get off work and walk through the streets of Manhattan with bags slung over me and people rushing by me to catch the train, the twilight sky was amazing. I have never seen such a bright, deep, brilliant sky, framed by the beautiful buildings. I love what you are writing about these moments. It takes me back to times of being in love with a city.
oh how i love NYC. I need to show my mom these posts... she grew up just outside the city and went to college in the city. magical. she misses it.
So glad you're loving NYC! Two quick restaurants I wanted to mention, both really child friendly and amazing food:
Takahachi (the Tribeca location, not East Village), great Japanese food and the sushi chefs are amazing with Ash whenever we bring him there. The food is Nobu quality, seriously.
Landmarc (the Tribeca location is our preference, but the one on the UWS in the Time Warner Center is OK too), the chef has children and went out of his way to make a fabulous children's menu and at the end of the meal the child gets to decide between mini ice cream cones or cotton candy! And on top of that their steaks are delicious and they have a killer half-bottle wine list.
Hope the rest of your trip is as fabulous as the first week has been!
~Jolene
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