A New York Minute

Last Wednesday morning, as I was getting the kids ready to leave for the airport, Avi said, "Mommy, sometimes Kermit goes to New York, too!"

He was excited and so was I, but I was also anxious--would we make it to the airport on time? Would I be able to manage the luggage and two children on a cross-country flight without Leeor?

Ultimately, the helpful people outweighed the ones snarking and eye-rolling at my brood and me. And having 5 days with my family, no matter where we are, is so worth it!

New York is such a fantastic, fun city. Avi claimed to like it better than San Francisco, but he also asked nervously, "Are we staying here?" I assured him we'd return home. He seemed to have a penchant for Brooklyn, saying (while we were in Manhattan), "Let's go to Blooklyn!" while Leeor and I didn't even try to contain our laughter. It helped that my friend, who was my roommate 13 years ago, when I was freshly sprung from college and excited to live in the big city, has a 5 year old daughter and a 2 year old son that Avi could play with (and sample all of their fun toys!).

My Lilit remains such an easygoing girl, even on her first airplane ride across 3 time zones. We scored two hotel rooms instead of the one we'd reserved due to their booking error; my girl and I got cozy in our own room while the boys slept next door. It felt so luxurious. Our hotel was on the border of the Lower East Side and Soho. I loved being downtown. We ate dinner one night at a little place on First Avenue and First Street, Boca Chica; a couple of friends met us and helped us entertain the kids while we enjoyed happy hour and good Latin food. My girlfriend and I laughed about how Lilit is instantly soothed by the whisper of Spanish words in her little ear--what is it, we wondered, about that language that babies find so soothing?

We took Avi to the Natural History Museum and watched him take it all in. Ate lunch at a delicious vegetarian restaurant on Amsterdam, which, incidentally, is one of my favorite streets on the Upper West Side (for no particular reason).

The weather was blech the first two days--muggy, rainy, windy. But then it cleared and we took full advantage of an amazing fall day on Saturday--we took the kids out all day--first a train ride up to Central Park so Avi could run around on the giant playground, then I shopped Fifth Avenue while he napped hard in the stroller. We enjoyed street music near the Plaza before we loaded our family of four back on the subway and headed downtown to the West Village. Leeor was nostalgic for his NYU days and fantasized that Avi might want to go to college there while we ate french fries and good babaganoush at The Olive Cafe. Our day was completed back in Park Slope; we stayed our last two nights at my old NY roommate's brownstone. Avi told us on our way to dinner with friends, "I think I am too tired to go to a restaurant," and he totally was, but we pressed on and he rallied for a cheeseburger and vanilla gelato.

Leeor and I peeled the kids out of bed yesterday morning while the sky remained sleepy and dark. On separate flights again, I wrangled the kids and myself into a very crowded plane filled with people who shot me dirty looks when my girl cried. My sweet Lilit has a cold and the plane ride was not the best thing for her. I had to dig deep for my mama zen; each moment a practice in mindfulness and equanimity, in extending kindness to the *mean* woman who shared our row and rolled her eyes each time I stood up and squeezed the 3 of us out into the aisle for the long walk to the bathroom. Fortunately, a friend from college happened to be on the flight and he gallantly carried our loot all the way to long-term parking, where I gladly shuttled him home.

It was a quick, wonderfully full trip to the big city with my family. We all felt sad today to part ways and go about our Monday morning routine, but I also think we are getting used to it and doing well. I slept 10 hours last night and can't wait to crawl into bed next to my girl, who is snuggled into her co-sleeper. New York was awesome and fun, but it kicked my ass. Next time I wanna relax at the beach.