Concrete Jungle Where Dreams are Made of

Paul and I were fortunate enough to take a trip by ourselves to New York!

I have never been before and Paul hasn’t been for 15 years or longer.  We booked our tickets and started making plans. 

We consulted with Paul’s sister Ruthie, who is an expert world traveler.   She filled our minds with wonderful information and tips. I started arranging babysitters and making lists of things to do.

Then my dad called.  He had a convention in Las Vegas the exact same time that we were going to be gone.  Dad and Mom talked about it and decided that they could babysit for us!  Wahoo!!  We would never have asked them to babysit due to their health issues.  It never even crossed our minds as a possibility.  But when it fell into our laps, what else were we to do?!?!? 

It actually was the best thing.  The kids are at a pretty good stage and Allie and Kara are good helpers. It was a relief to not have to worry about what babysitter was going to have them each day.  And I love that the kids got to spend time with their grandparents.  It has been a long time since Grandma and Grandpa have been able to visit so it was a real treat.  My only complaint (and its not really a complaint just sadness on my part) is that I didn’t get to be here with them.  But I can’t be two places at once and New York was calling!

It was a hectic week getting everything in order.  Paul flew out on Sunday to a 4 day meeting in California.  He would be leaving Cali on Wednesday and flying directly to New York.  I was also leaving Wednesday from Vegas and would meet him there.

My best bud/long-lost-sister-from-another-mother Marci watched Coop and Cass Wednesday until the girls got home from school. Then our fabulous babysitter, Rachel, stayed with them until my parents got into town that night.

Paul and I flew in about 20 minutes apart and then took a car to our hotel.

And guess what? I think the song was right.

      New York,Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,There's nothing you can't do,    Now you're in New York,These streets will make you feel brand new,The lights will inspire you,Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York

What an amazing city!  There are so many people and so many things to see.  It is a completely different mind set.  I thought I was prepared…….I mean, I am from Sin City.  Vegas never turns off and there are tourists everywhere. 

But somehow, its just so different.  And I am so glad I got to experience it!

We packed in so much during our 4 day stay. 

Our stay in New York started on Paul’s birthday.  Paul was serenaded by a calypso musician who played '”Happy Birthday” to him on his steel drum.

We rode the ferry out to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

I took a picture for a foreign tourist couple and then they took one of us.

Not sure why we are so cropped. He must have been going for an artistic element!

I really enjoyed Ellis Island.  Ruth suggested getting the audio tour at the Museum and I am so glad that we did.  It really added to the experience.  It was so incredible to hear the stories and the voices of people who had personal connections with the island. 

The building was steeped in history.  You could just in vision it packed with people from different countries surrounded by their children and their belongings and clinging on to the hope of a different, new life.

The audio tour was so descriptive of the process that the people went through.  It was humbling thinking of the people crowding through the halls and rooms, some scared and confused.  It was such a process that they went through. 

 

I found Ellis Island really fascinating and I am really glad that we took the time to do the tour.

We finished off Paul’s Birthday by going to The Late Show with David Letterman.

We went down to the theater to get our tickets.  They put you through a little screening process where they verify your drivers license and then you check in.  After the initial check in stop, a couple of people, including us, were called over to a small area.  We were told that something about our winning personalities and our sparkling smiles made us the lucky ones  that would be sitting in the first two rows.  They really talked it up and said it was really neat and fun and we ended the little talk with a group huddle and a hands-in-the-middle cheer.

And even though we are not huge fans of David Letterman, we were excited.  The staff were all really great.  The people that were handling us were called pages and they all wore Lettermen jackets.  Get it?  It took me a while before I caught on to the play on words.  I love cheesy play on words and themes!

We weren’t aloud to take any pictures during the process.  The pages had a ton of energy and were fun.  They brought us in to the theater and we took our seats.  I was sitting in the dead center of the very front row! 

Lucky, right?

Well, turns out it is the worst seat in the house!

The camera and teleprompts were directly in front of me.  But it was still really fun and a neat experience.  The guests were pretty funny and the music was loud and had a good beat.  (Can someone tell me why Paul Shaffer always wears sunglass???)

I think we did everything on the top 5 list of things to do in New York.

The 9/11 Memorial was a really neat place.

The reflecting pools added a nice feeling to the site.  The water made it sound  different there and it put a bit moisture in the air so it even felt different there.

The pools are surrounded by the names of the victims.

The museum isn’t open yet but I think it is supposed to be finished this year.  It is the big building directly behind the trees in the picture below. 

Visiting the memorial was another humbling experience. 

This is what the new towers look like from the Empire State Building. 

The Empire State Building was really cool.  We timed it just right and got to see the sun as it was starting to set.

We also went to the ‘Top of the Rock’.  Also amazing views.

We hit a bunch of museums, had a huge ice cream cone at Central Park and even saw a play. 

Paul wasn’t a fan of the Modern Art Museum.  He took a picture of this painting, I think because he was sure Cassidy has done the same piece at home.

We went the Manhattan 2nd Ward on Sunday.  From the outside it looks like a typical New York Building. The Foyer was a big space that was used for stroller parking.  Which makes sense because everybody walks to church. Once you walk inside, the halls look just like a church building at home. 

Just as I was turning to Paul to comment on the singing of the hymns, Paul turned to me and said that he bet there were at least a couple of Broadway singers in the congregation.   It was really inspiring singing along with such a talented group.  Somehow I even sounded better!

By the end of the trip, I felt fairly confident in my subway navigating skills.  Paul said I had my head in the map everywhere we went.  With the amount of walking that we did, and with the amount of pain that my feet were experiencing, I wanted to be sure I knew where we were going so that we didn’t have to take too many unnecessary steps!

We got home really late Sunday night and found all well with our family.  My mom and dad had to leave really early Monday morning so dad was asleep by the time we got home.  Mom waited up to say hi.  Paul crashed on the couch and mom and I stayed up talking until 3:30 in the morning!

Needless to say we were all tired the next morning.  But it was so worth it.  The trip was wonderful!  And it was a great way to end the trip by catching up with my mom, on Mother’s Day no less!

Mom and Dad,  thanks for helping make our trip possible by watching the kids!  We love you!

4EVR L8

A friend of mine told me about the license plate that she had on her car.  It says 4EVR L8, translated to mean Forever Late.

That is something that I continually struggle with.  I don’t mean to be late.  I just always think of one more thing that I could or should do before I leave.  And I am a poor estimator of time.  I think I can do things faster that I actually can- especially when it comes to getting the children out the door.

Today, this cute girl had a doctors appointment.

Kara has been having foot pain since last year.  When we finally got her in to the doctor last year, (going through the in-plan doctors through our insurance took over three months to be seen by a podiatrist)  it was the middle of summer and her foot wasn’t really hurting anymore.

As this year has progressed, so has the pain.  I notice that she limps and does a hop skip step when she is walking, trying to avoid the foot that is hurting.

We have new insurance (so much easier) and so I called last week to make her an appointment. 

We were going to a brand new doctor and I wanted to be on time.  We got ready to go and what do you know, when we left the house we were on time and actually a little early!!

We got to the appointment and walked in 5 minutes before our appointment!!  I think it is a new personal best for me.

The office was nice and small and had one women working the front desk.  We signed in and waited for a bit.  After about 10 minutes she called me up to the desk.  She asked me if we had a referral and I said no.  She apologetically shook her head and told me that they don’t accept walk-ins.  Confused, I told her that I wasn’t just a ‘walk-in’.  I called last week and made an appointment.  I had self-referred to their office.  She checked her book again trying to figure it out. I felt instant frustration over the mistake.  I had taken my daughter out of school for this!  I wanted to be seen by the doctor!

Suddenly, and luckily before I raised a stink, I felt a wave of panic come over me.  I knew exactly what the problem was.

I was at the wrong Doctor's office.

You see, I was feeling really bad for Kara and I wanted to get her an appointment as soon as possible.  I had called this office to make an appointment and the earliest appointment was in about two weeks.  I set the appointment and then hung up the call.  As soon as I was off the phone I thought, why am I waiting?  I can go to any doctor I want.  So I called around and found someone who could get her in Monday.  So I made the new appointment and added it to my calendar. 

But my mental calendar had the wrong location.

As the women checked her appointment schedule, I could feel my checks start to blush.  She turned the page and finally found us…….for next Tuesday at 11.  Not this Monday at 11. 

Just what I was afraid of!!  I was at the wrong place!!!

I held my composure and tried to act like it wasn’t a big deal.  Like, I’m sure this must happen all the time.

She was very sweat and talked about how she wished that the doctor could fit us in but that she was booked and covering for another doctor.  She gave us paper work and a reminder card with the correct day and time.

I tried to smoothly usher the kids out of the office as fast as possible while still maintaining an ounce of dignity.

Totally not possible!  Three kids does not make for a fast escape!  Especially when the one who thought she was going to the doctor is totally confused.

As soon as we got out the door, I started embarrassingly laughing and told Kara what had happened.  Then I quickly called the correct doctor’s office and told them I had gone to the wrong place but that I was one my way.

It was 11:15.

Thankfully, it was just down the street and only took us about 5 minutes to get there.

But you know what that means?

I WAS LATE!

I guess all I can do is try!  And one day maybe being on time/early might actually happen for real!