New York, New York!

Last week we were in New York City. It was a quick flight in...present...fly home. A whirlwind to be sure, but there were a few hours when I experienced the joy and power of this bustling city. 

A friend (who had flown in for the same event) and I planned to meet for lunch. I called to let her know when I was headed north up 5th Avenue, beginning at 40th Street. She was certain that we would meet somewhere around 60th Street as she, too, began the trek down to me from 76th. We may have been able to find each other in the hoards of sidewalk occupants but missed the chance twice before my friend realized that she was actually walking down Madison Avenue...one street over from 5th. When we finally hooked up, we got a good laugh from our surprisingly athletic morning.

During this walk the number of pedestrians thinned out around Central Park, making it possible for me to observe those sitting on benches along the walls surrounding the Central Park Zoo. Where else but New York City could I see a very aged grandmother sitting next to her twenty-something granddaughter peeling and eating chestnuts between cheerful chatter. Where else but this amazing City would two dog walkers choose to sit on the same bench for lunch with five to six leashes attached to as many dogs apiece, and say not a word to each other (even the dogs keeping to their "sides"). Where else but NY could I peak over the low wall along which these benches reside to see children frolicking in an adorable petting zoo with alpacas, sheep and baby calves? These sights made the repeated treks along those same 10 blocks well worth the effort!

Later that same day, dressed in sparkling evening clothes I shared Andrea's story at a fundraiser dinner near Time's Square--quite the contrast to my earlier t-shirt, shorts and tennis shoes. Yet when I got to the part when I read a couple of stanzas from one of Andrea’s poems (written after her visit to the Sequoia National Forest)...I realized that my daughter's words captured beautifully my morning experience:

Fill the chest, expand the lungs
Life, rushing in and out on the breeze
Up here I am endless,
Up here I am strong
Somehow

Standing next to this Great Sequoia
I am mighty
These trees do not dwarf me with their majestic power
They teach me of my own

New York City can make a person feel small, but on this morning I felt expansive. The hustle and bustle of the City did not "dwarf me" with its power...it taught me of my own (even with the mixed-up meeting with my friend). This realization filled me with joy...the joy that comes from feeling connected to my daughter through a shared "felt" experience ... the decade between the two events completely inconsequential.

With blessings until next time,

Doris