I Should Have Known Better ...

I should have known that I ought to ask for NYC ideas BEFORE leaving for the Big Apple. I read the comments given just after leaving Manhattan. Not great timing. I was so bummed to not have been able to do some of the suggestions. 

Still Jon and I had a great time being together. I am a believer in alone trips. Jon and I have taken an alone trip between each child. It is a great way to reconnect and remember why you fell in love with this person you now know as "Mom" or "Dad." It takes more than a date night for me to get out of mom mode and remember I am a woman too. Alone trips do that for me. Plus they help me see Jonathan as himself too. 

This is our second time doing NYC for our alone trip. Last time was definitely warmer. It was pretty bitter cold with the wind on Saturday. Friday was nice though. We most enjoyed our time at the Temple there in Manhattan. It was so lovely, so peaceful, and it really reminded me of how much I love being in the Temple.

We also enjoyed our hours roaming the Met. I love art. There are some paintings there that I really adore and it was great to revisit them. We also went to Spamalot. Hmmm. That was probably the biggest waste of time and money in a LONG time. I have never been able to stay awake through the Monty Python Movie and this play presented an equal challenge. Plus it was far too crude for my liking.

We had decent food but nothing as memorable as we had hoped. We did enjoy a little French cafe near time square for brunch. We also greatly enjoyed spending time with Jon's sister and her family. I got my newborn fix quenched with her little 3 week old Jackson. He was so yummy. I love brand newborn little lumps of love. Especially other peoples newborns that don't wake you up to eat every two hours. ;)

Also I did get an early birthday present from my sweetheart with the help of his amazing sister and her jewelry skills. I will do a post on it another day. Maybe on my birthday. :) It is lovely and intensely meaningful. Thank you all for planting the seeds of ideas in the fertile soil of his mind.

Overall, this was a trip that I didn't know I needed as badly as I did. It brought me out of my funk and renewed me. I was walking down Park Avenue to go meet Jon after his meeting and I thought, "This city is so full of LIFE."

There was a time when I lived that sort of independent life. I lived out East and traveled by foot or subway or cab through my years at law school. I have backpacked Europe and Mexico. All this I did as a single independent woman. This trip was a reminder to me of that woman. It was like taking a vacation to a former life. It was empowering. I am glad to be home with my family and very glad to live in a warmer, more settled atmosphere. But I am also grateful to remember my capabilities and strength as a woman.