I tried something new today.
We had a really great weekend. It was relaxing, inspiring, focused, fun, new, easy, exciting, and… Relaxing. I felt so lucky as we were winding down Sunday night, really reflecting on how nicely everything came together, and how fortunate I felt on so many levels to be able to be experiencing this.
And when the usual panic and dread and pace of Monday-morning readying started to get to me, I really used the energy and good fortune that I recognized and appreciated so much from our weekend to anchor myself. I actually said out loud a few times ( I’ve been talking to myself with increasing frequency since moving here- I’m really fitting in nicely) ‘We were so lucky to have had such a nice weekend. Today is going to be ok.’

As I’ve aged and gained some perspective on both the fragility and beauty of life, I’ve moved away from the ‘just get through today in order to get to tomorrow, which is one step closer to the weekend’ approach. It just has such an undercurrent of potential for sour disappointment; it’s not every day that feels like a gift, like a treasure, like something to be cherished, but there is a hell of a lot that does fit into this category, and I am trying really hard to keep that as present as possible.

But what made this weekend so great?
Saturday we actually felt like we sort of ‘belonged’ to a community for a bit, and neither of us realized that that would actually feel ok…
There was a free Easter Egg hunt that we were invited to through some parents at the school. And I invited some other families. Who showed up.
Of course it was on the rooftop of some random building in Tribeca with expansive views of the Hudson.  But other than that, there was the usual symphony of screaming and snotty-nosed kids, parents looking like they could use an extra shot of espresso, and Pherrel popping along on the distorted sound system. But the kids had a great time. And it resulted in a bunch of us all heading out for a lazy lunch at a Roaring 20’s (inspired or legit, who knows?) bar…spicy Bloody Mary’s for the big kids.

But then this happened…

After our easy lunch, we were then on our way to the Talent Show at Nora’s school to watch her buddies perform.

I made Brett stop and get us flat whites at Hugh Jackman’s coffee shop while I grab $5 roses for her pals from the bodega for after the performance.
The kids and I round the corner to meet Brett outside the coffee shop and I see an Escalade and a driver waiting and think ‘holy shit. I wonder if Hugh is in there today.’
No. It’s Josh Groban.
Brett comes walking out behind him and I’m giving him the ‘holy shit. That guy is Oprah’s pal and forSURE unknown to you because you’re not a 55 year old woman’. He doesn’t get it.
And I explain who he is and he says , ‘he moved out of the way so I could get my Instagram shot, and then ordered a cappuccino .’

From there I’m certain that Josh is going to make a guest appearance at the talent show.
He doesn’t, but basically every kid that performs definitely has at least one parent at Carnegie Hall or on Broadway.  ( and a kindergarten kid sang ‘hooked on a feeling’ acapella. I’m still laughing. I dare anyone to listen to the words and picture a 5 year old singing them without hesitation. )
Our kid’s teacher let us know in our interview this week that Nora is fitting in nicely but that she’s still quite shy and hesitant to speak up or stand up in front of the class. No shit- she’s moved from a sweet and happy little city to, well, THIS!

After the 2 hour show, this same kid handed out her flowers to her performing pals with her brother in tow, and then the four us headed home to order pizza….

Sunday was a day of unscheduled exploring… Started off at Economy Candy, making our way over to the Village for a coffee, and then me enjoying some alone time strolling through  Soho where I bumped into (I might have moved) Elizabeth Banks at the Pearl River Mart check-out. Pretty sure she and I would be friends.

So after a weekend like this I have a combination of ‘what kind of assholes are we to be able to be doing this kind of stuff?’  and ‘soak it alllll up while you can’ thoughts. And facing as many Mondays as possible with a grateful and determined smiled.

I dare you.

We’re leaving the city for hilarious desert California in less than a month.

We were fortunate to have another one of those weekends chalked-full with planned and unplanned experiences… And I’m finding that submitting to the possibility of both of those experiences- some of them timed and researched and coordinated, and some happenstance, allows one to fill up on the nutty and inspiring and buzzing energy that is New York.

In one weekend, we were able to eat in a cavernous subterraneanian restaurant that’s been on our ‘list’ for months, putz around in or favourite world-class museum without rush or itinerary, listen to singers on and off the subway, stroll beneath iconic landmarks where more musicians sang their hearts out, sip some of the best hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted, watch the flocks of pigeons from park benches in more iconic parks, all the while delighting in everyone’s special reaction to these classically romantic New York experiences…. And, yes, there were moments of negotiating through piles and piles of overflowing, and unapologetic garbage bags on even the prettiest of streets, without answer to the ‘is it always like this?’ question…. And there were moments nearing the end of the busy 2 days when there was more squealing in the whiny flavouring than the delighted flavour, but it was a reaction… Spring is in the air, we hope, and we’re excited for a new season in the wackjob of a place..

I’m reading this book.

It’ll be neat to see our reaction to NYC  upon returning from Palm Springs in April…!