Welcome to New York

The gifts of time and experiences

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Siblings don’t always get along, so as someone who has siblings and is raising siblings, I’m grateful when those bonds are strong. This past weekend was such a treat—a double sisters weekend in New York with my kids and my sister Steph—and I wanted to share some reflections, in particular in the lane of the gifts of time and experiences. (If you want to see additional pictures, I set up a highlight on Instagram over the weekend.)

Transit life skills FTW

This was Violet’s first time riding Amtrak and it was a great reminder of how important it is to be out in the world to experience everyday things like transit, if you have the privilege of living somewhere with access. Though Violet has ridden the T in Boston, Amtrak definitely felt like a different animal for her. I loved how curious she was, and it was fun to show her the ropes with things like the departure boards, track signage, transit etiquette, etc. She loved the experience (she said she found it both fun and stressful LOL), and now it is opening my mind to other possibilities with her via train.

Hooray for sisters

This trip started to take shape when my sister Steph and I were away together a couple of months ago. During that lovely, low key weekend, I mentioned that I was thinking about a New York trip (including a Broadway show) to celebrate Violet’s birthday but that it couldn’t happen until we got through her theater performance the last weekend of April. Steph is a planner so she immediately started turning on the idea—and leveling it up several notches from my original sketch! It was so fun to see Laurel and Violet reunited at Penn Station and then to walk over and meet Steph at the hotel. The girls held hands the whole way; my heart was also bursting the whole way.

Remember how I wrote about how their 6.5 year age gap is a non-issue? Here’s photo evidence.

New York is a lot and it feels like home

New York can be overwhelming and I wasn’t sure how Violet would respond to the throngs of people and stimulation. Turns out she loved it, and though I understand why people think this city can be a lot, I couldn’t not notice my immediate comfort level as soon as we arrived. Reality is, pretty much any given day I have an opportunity to feel my otherness—or be reminded of it directly—so to be amidst diversity where self-expression is the name of the game and no one gives a shit if you are, say, wearing a sequined blazer or a fascinator on your head is fantastic. At one point New York City was a contender for us when Jon was considering grad schools and over the weekend I did wonder on more than one occasion how a stint there would have changed our arc of experience.

Context is a connecting thread

Since NYC is now Laurel’s backyard, it was fun for Violet to be able to set a few things about Laurel’s life as a college student into context. For example, on the Amtrak ride down Violet recognized the names of some of the train stations that Laurel uses as we got closer to the city, having heard Laurel talk about them, and it was fun to be able to point out things like the New York Public Library, where Laurel sometimes studies.

Experiences over stuff for life

The main anchors around which our weekend was planned involved seeing two Broadway shows of Violet’s choice—Moulin Rouge and Chicago. Seeing the talent in these shows, the energy in the audience, my kids’ reactions, and experiencing my own outpouring of feelings was incredible.

I love that the band is part of the show, versus buried in a pit. They were fantastic.

Also to be filed in the unforgettable memories department: 1) I was able to introduce Steph and my kids to the incredibly talented and kind Courtney Reed, who starred as Satine in Moulin Rouge (we met four years ago at Alt Summit and I messaged her to let her know how excited I was to root her on and she graciously invited us backstage), 2) Boy George played Harold Zidler in Moulin Rouge and it was fun to talk 80s music with the kids, 3) at the end of Chicago, the actress who played Roxie Hart kissed a rose from her bouquet and threw it to Violet. Unreal.

With the incredible Courtney Reed, who plays Satine in Moulin Rouge.

Fancy time + down time are both great

Steph had high tea on her bucket list so while that was another incredible experience we got to share, down time at the hotel and meandering around the city talking about everything from skin care to favorite foods to family dynamics was just fantastic.

Steph had an assortment of fascinators for us to choose from for high tea. She is next level in her planning!

This photo, taken by Steph, is one of my favorites of the weekend.

People’ing can be great

The pandemic definitely impacted my tolerance for people’ing and I felt like this trip shook me out of a fog. I mean, was I annoyed with the bro who took his work call super loud right behind me on the Sunday morning return train ride? Or the bro sitting alone in a four-seat block with his feet and bags on the seats hoping no one else would sit there (we had no problem asking him to move his feet and his stuff). OF COURSE. But otherwise, being amidst commuters, walking the logical grid of NYC, feeling the excitement of Broadway, getting dressed up for fun adventures, and doing the New York pizza walk and eat filled me up. There were so many moments where I felt grateful to be of this wild, people’y world.

Pizza walk and eat for life, even though we didn’t manage to find the 99 cent slice.

This was for sure an unusual weekend, but it all boils down to the nourishment inherent in time and experiences. I hope you enjoy time with beloved people soon.