A Nice Get-Away

New York City! I met my friend Sheri for a nice long weekend in New York. I met Sheri when I lived in Wichita, and we really hit it off. I only lived there for two years, and really only knew Sheri for one year, but somehow, we became fast friends. We've traveled together before, and we always have a good time.

We did SO MUCH in such a short weekend. The day we got there, Thursday, we went to see Scarlett Johanssen and Liev Schrieber in The View From the Bridge, and Arthur Miller play. It was really wonderful. We were WAY up in the balcony, but once we got over the vertigo, we both enjoyed the play.

The next day was shopping day. We went to several trimmings stores in the garment district - M&J Trimmings and Tinsel Trading Company. I allowed myself to choose five different ribbons and got two yards of each. Don't know what I'll do with them yet...I also bought some sweet little flowers that will be great in some project, I just know it. Such amazing stores.

We also got ripped off at one restaurant - Roxy's at Times Square. Don't go there. It's supposed to be a NY deli, but they charge outrageous prices. Granted the sandwiches are huge, but they're not very good.

On Saturday, we went down to the Lower East side to the Tenement Museum. I liked that quite a bit. The tour focused on several families' lives and experiences. It was a little hokey, but overall a good museum. From there we wandered over to Little Italy and Chinatown. Then we took the train up to 80th and Broadway to Zabar's, a fabulous market.

On Sunday, the weather turned nasty - we had planned on going on a pre-Passover Jewish culture walking tour, but it was pouring down rain, so we just went to the Strand, then headed up to Harlem to eat soul food at Sylvia's. On Sunday's, they perform gospel music in the restaurant. It's pretty tourist-y, but still fun.

One thing I did realize on this trip is that I can get around pretty much anywhere now. I was sort of nervous of the subway system, but was able to figure it out. We went from Mid-town to the lower East Side, out to Brooklyn, up to Harlem - all over the place. In fact, we must have looked fairly competent because three times over the weekend people asked us for subway directions!

It was so nice to get away from work for awhile and do something fun. I'm tired, but I do feel refreshed and relaxed. Not that I really want to go back to work tomorrow, but I feel that I can get through another week.

Some Things I Miss

I miss being a mom with little boys at home. I miss cutting apples each night for them to eat while we read their bedtime stories (no peel for Andy!). I miss when they'd snuggle in the bed, so warm and cuddly - Andy saying "Nathan, get in the middle! You get more hugs there!" I miss being in control of my own schedule. I miss cooking every day, surprisingly, although I complained about it at the time.

I miss coffee with my friends at Real Bread Company in Evansville when all the kids were finally in school. We'd sit and talk for hours. I miss sitting at the pool, minding the boys, and whatever other kids were around, thinking "What a great job I've got!". I miss going to soccer games and drama club picnics. I even miss Cub Scout Blue & Gold banquets. I miss the book fair.

I miss making lunches every day - once I made one for Andy's high school friend Chelsea. She thought I was the greatest after that. I miss football games in the back yard in Wichita, and the snack basket I made for all the boys so they wouldn't eat everything in the house.

I'm sure I'm looking at the past with rose-colored glasses, but that's ok.

A New Project

So, here I am blogging. Something I never thought I'd do, and don't know how long I will do it. But, I've enjoyed my sister's blog so much that I thought I'd give it a try, if only to keep in touch with both my sisters. It feels a little silly, but here goes!

Not sure how to start, but to say my life is sort of unbalanced and temporary-feeling right now. I have a job that I like, but there's too much of it, and that's not going to end soon. I'll be moving and starting a whole new life within a year and a half when J T. "retires" - still don't know exactly what that is going to look like. How to help him figure it all out - what he wants to do, how to do it. There are so many options - almost too many.

There are a few things I'm sure of - I want to live in a house I like, and I want to have enough money to travel before I'm too old or dead. And I want meaningful work - right now, I don't really have that, and it's crushing my soul. I feel like I should be able to overcome this, but it's hard to do. I need more time to create, to learn how to meditate, to learn yoga, to read, to cook, to garden, to exercise, to take care of myself and my family.

I really don't think I'm asking for too much...