The City That Never Sleeps
Everyday, I stand at my kitchen sink emptying and refilling my dishwasher. It’s always a time of reflection. I like to stand at that big window, enjoying our pretty yard and taking stock of things. Sometimes, I reflect on current situations or I'm reminded of how thankful I am for all I've blessed with. I use that time to be grateful and be mindful in the moment. I’m grateful for so many things and today I’m grateful for my city. My husband, Tim, and I love NYC. There’s so much to love! We’ve been many places, but there truly is no place like home.
Not too long ago, there was an art installation in NYC’s Financial District opposite the famous Charging Bull statue. The name: “Fearless Girl.” My daughter cried when she saw it for the first time. It was truly moving. The plaque below the statue read, “Know the power of women in leadership. SHE makes a difference.” I loved her little ponytail flipping up in the air, hands on hips as if to say, “Come on NYC, I’m ready to take you on!”
People come from all over the world to visit The Big Apple. There are days when it is nearly impossible to maneuver our city’s streets because of tourists and congestion. Traffic literally gets shut down when the President comes to town. Our good friends that lived in mid-town for a couple of years miss it, the only exceptions being areas like Times Square! Too crowded and touristy! Christmas at Rockefeller Plaza is magical. The storefronts are a must see. People line up to walk past them because they are that spectacular.
We live on Staten Island, one of the city’s five boroughs. We love Manhattan so much that we take at least one night a month to go into the city for a date night. It’s a short ferry ride over and there’s so much to do and see! Central Park, Broadway, museums, nightlife, Soho, Tribeca, Canal Street shopping and the list goes on. We always talk about how we dream of one day retiring and spending a year living in a small apartment downtown, writing our memoirs.
It can be pretty fast-paced and hectic. Whenever we go away on vacation, by the end of the trip we are all itching to get back to it. We’re so wired for city living that it’s hard to unwind! Think of the hundreds of songs written about our city. Billy Joel, Frank Sinatra, Alicia Keys are just a few that come to mind. In many Broadway shows and movies our city is like another character in the background. When asked if they could see themselves living anywhere else, our kids will say, “No way.” I love that. We are pretty blessed to have been born and raised here. Sometimes we forget to be thankful for it!