The sun is shining over the east river

I suppose I am a creature of habit. I like my routine. So does Avi, even though he's proven time and again that he is more flexible than I am.


I have unwittingly developed this vacation routine of hanging out in this apartment while Avi naps in the late morning. I love it. Leeor usually goes out for a bit and then we all meet up and enjoy the day. Does vacation really have to end?

Last night I got to go out to a show after having dinner with a dear old dancing friend. What a treat! I felt so inspired by both events. I danced with Tina in college; Hilary and Gillie inroduced me to her, and the 3 of us we were quite the Rent-heads. So when Hil told me I had to see In the Heights, I believed her. It. was. so. good. Even though I almost missed the opening number (which is not to be missed) 'cause I was a naughty theatre-goer and was late (plus it was pouring rain and there was so much cross-town traffic and I ended up bailing out of my cab and sprinting through the rain; I sat in the aisle so as not to piss off my seat-row-mates during that first kick-ass number), even though the main squeeze of the show, Lin-Manuel Miranda, was replaced by his understudy, it was still amazing. Shout out to Javier Munoz. You were great. I keep thinking about it. I walked home in the freezing downpour thinking about it. And it's not a complicated show. The music is fantastic. I loved the dancing. I loved the simplicity of the story, the high-energy of the numbers, the lyrics in Spanish, the themes of race and class and family dynamics.

We also got to spend a day with my old NY roommate and her adorable children in Brooklyn. I think we'll go back today after we spend sometime downtown. Becca's husband, Alex, asked me (we all knew each other when I lived here over a decade ago) if I'd regained my NY edge during this trip. I laughed because I never really had one, but I think I found it during this trip. Maybe it's motherhood that brings it out in me, but yesterday I actually put out my hand to cars trying to turn onto one of the avenues as Avi and I were crossing the street (and we had the right of way!) and guess what? It worked!

I am enjoying this time for vacation self-reflection . For example, Leeor likes to spend entire days looking at art. His family has a great story about how they once spent like 5 hours outside a museum in Athens while little Leeor insisted on covering every inch of the place. I like to go for one specific exhibit (there's a South African woman, Marlene Dumas, with an excellent show at MOMA; it's all about motherhood and race and power, femininity, sexuality, religion, good stuff) and then get out. And there was a time when I would worry that it wasn't okay to have a separate agenda from my partner. That we had to always be in agreement about things. For some people this is a no-brainer, but not for me.

It's beautiful outside today. We get to meet up with friends and continue to enjoy this city until early Sunday morning when we head back to California. Have I mentioned that I wish we could just remain in this la-la land of vacation? It's pretty great to have time, luxurious time, with my child and my husband.

Avi is still asleep in the pack-n-play. When I came home from the show last night, he was curled up in Leeor's lap, sleeping contentedly. It was just about the sweetest thing I have ever seen.