The Big Apple (or Kaitlin Takes the UWS of Manhattan)

(Cue music from the movie "On the Town")

New York, New York, a helluva town

The Bronx is up, but the Battery's down.
The people ride in a hole in the groun'.
New York, New York, it's a helluva town!

Never did I realize how true those lyrics were until I landed at JFK with my husband, sister and Porkpie. Let me set some background story here for you: We live on a VERY QUIET street where all the neighbors know each other (and probably know more about you than you care to admit). If I go for a walk around our neighborhood, it's a busy day if we see more than 6 other people walking over a 1.5 mile loop. Taking Bandit and Porkpie (I will try to refrain from shortening that to "Pork") for a walk is usually done in silence unless one of us decides to entertain the other two with singing/babbling or a rambling monologue with no particular topic as a theme. For us, a "busy" day is one where we go to the supermarket and we can see lots of people at a time.  These outings are always a ton of fun as Kaitlin is all about making eye contact and engaging anything on 2 or 4 legs for some conversation.


Now imagine, after a night of fitful sleep in a big noisy, tin can, waking up and finding yourself in JFK airport. With more people there than your whole town. And you haven't left the terminal yet. There are tons of people, all sizes and shapes speaking tons of different languages milling around the airport. Outside, she gets blasted with her first experience of hot, humid, muggy, cigarette smoke-filled air as we get a cab to take us into Manhattan. Welcome to the Big Apple, aka "the Mother Ship" for your momma, Little Girl.

We landed on a Friday morning with very little on our agenda for the next 7 days. The basis for the trip was to go to my girlfriend's wedding on Saturday. We've known each other since college, which translates into "many years". :-) I had kept in touch with a few other good friends from college as well and hoped to meet with them if schedules allowed. Other than that - the days were pretty flexible.

So the first thing we do on Friday - we shop! :-) Let's pack the kid into the stroller and head out and explore the old neighborhood. Well - let's just say - if I did nothing other than stroller Porkpie around 24/7 in Manhattan, I think she'd still be thrilled to no end. There were people EVERYWHERE. And LOTS of them. It was sensory overload: buses, cars and taxis zooming along Amsterdam Avenue at 35 mph; people walking in every possible direction at a good clip (something Californians have not mastered); smells from the exhaust, the coffee shops you walk past and the other stuff you don't want to think about... It was the best thing ever for Kaitlin as she just soaked it all in and tried to look around and see where everyone was going.

I could probably write a short novel describing the trip, instead, I'll share some highlights:

• Subway travel with a stroller is very interesting. Your efficiency takes a big hit when you've got to maneuver around with a sweaty chunk of a kid and/or a diaper bag and/or a stroller in tow.
• Chinatown will probably never re-pave its sidewalks. I think I hit more bumps and potholes going to dim sum that one morning vs the entire rest of the year in our neighborhood. Surprised the kid didn't get whiplash from the impacts.
• People commute to work slightly later in the day in NYC than here in Silicon Valley. Well coiffed men and women were still bustling to get to work at 10 am. At my company, "late" is if you're not at your desk or online by 9.
• New Yorkers are EXTREMELY kind to people with young children/babies traveling on mass transit. If you are willing to brave the hot, sweaty lugging around of a chunk, you *will* be rewarded with a seat on the subway or bus no matter how crowded it is. I was stunned and so thankful to all the very nice passengers who jumped up and offered a seat to me while I juggled my Metrocard, wallet and baby with two hands.
• You should pack a rain cover for your stroller if you travel anywhere outside of the SF Bay Area during the summer. We got caught in some serious-assed rain showers. And with no umbrellas or stroller covers on our persons, we had to improvise a bit to keep everyone from getting completely soaked. (It was a good reminder that the premium we pay for the nice weather here can be worth it).
• Sprinklers in playgrounds are da bomb. You could probably leave your small child there, go have lunch, get your hair done and come back and they'd still be splashing in the water - happy as a clam.
• As much improved as NYC is in terms of dirt, crime, etc. you still have to suspend your germ-phobia a bit when you go there. Face it peoples, there are a butt-load of people living there and you can't keep your kid from touching things. Just remember that millions of children have survived their childhood growing up there too and get over it. I think it's a very healthy exercise for all people with children to go through. You'll be amazed at how relatively clean things in your house/neighborhood will seem in comparison.

Here's a picture of us in Chinatown. What you can't see really well is how curly Porkpie's hair is due to the humidity. And how the wrinkles on my face disappeared for the same reason. Woohoo!

The list could go on and on about what we did, where we spent the afternoon etc. but if you're still reading - this is what I really want to share with you.




My trip to New York was a way for me to remember each and every day how amazing our children are. They really do come into this world like little sponges, ready to soak in and learn everything you can show them. And they find joy in the silliest and smallest things such as smiling and waving hello to the strangers on the subway. There are no preconceived prejudices or stereotypes programmed into their minds - every person they see is an opportunity to wave and smile at someone. What an awesome concept. Of course, this mind set could get you in a world of trouble if you stick to it without fail. But for a little while, it sure is nice to let the little ones teach us a thing or two about how to live your life. It seems like we could use a refresher course now and then.




I know we don't retain memories from our early childhood, but I hope this experience will somehow leave an impression on Kaitlin that will help shape the adult she will eventually become. And if it doesn't, at least it will help me try to be the person I want to be when I grow up too.