{ "Toto FurFur, I have a feeling I'm not in Kansas anymore!"––Baby Max, on his first NYC trip }
Last
week's trip to New York isn't what you think. Instead of the usual
mom/daughter shopping trip to Macys and huge family meals in Chinatown,
it was an incredibly heartaching time for me and my family. The Fella and I flew there with Baby Max to visit my grandma
who was in the hospital as the result of a very unfortunate accident. I like
to think our being there provided strength––and also a reprieve––to my
dad who's been in NYC since the accident two weeks ago. With the extreme generosity of my old friend who loaned us her
West Village apartment, and our neighbor friend at home who took care of FurFur, we were able to make this very last minute, impromptu trip to
Manhattan happen. Hotel arrangements were one less
thing to worry about amidst grappling with end-of-life decisions, and
the reality of the relative brevity of life itself.
In our haste to pack and get out the door to the airport... WE FORGOT THE STROLLER! D'oh! Luckily, we're not totally bad parents, we did remember the Baby Bjorn. That resulted in me wearing nearly 15lbs of Baby through the big city, subway rides and big city blocks and all. It's a good thing he's cute.*
In between hospital visits, we ate take-out dinners with my folks in the apartment and played with Max until bedtime. Max did awesome sleeping through all the strange noises of Manhattan, everything from bar-goers headed home, hundreds of tons of sidewalk concrete being torn up at 5am right outside, and sirens. Lots of sirens.
Bellevue Hospital, where my grandma is, is gorgeous. Who knew that a place often containing so much sadness could be so beautiful and historical, too?
We managed to see a couple of friends for bites at Cafe 'Ino and Blue Ribbon Restaurant, conveniently located steps away from the apartment, and Max (via me) also had his first NYC street dog. Yum!
*Observation: There must be a shortage of babies in Manhattan. A ton of strangers in passing have coo'd at Max like they've never seen a babe before, including two burly men on the street: "Oh, loooook, it's a baby!"
{ Baby Max in NYC, Viv's apartment }
In our haste to pack and get out the door to the airport... WE FORGOT THE STROLLER! D'oh! Luckily, we're not totally bad parents, we did remember the Baby Bjorn. That resulted in me wearing nearly 15lbs of Baby through the big city, subway rides and big city blocks and all. It's a good thing he's cute.*
{ Max was more interested in the sights than the NYC street dog }
In between hospital visits, we ate take-out dinners with my folks in the apartment and played with Max until bedtime. Max did awesome sleeping through all the strange noises of Manhattan, everything from bar-goers headed home, hundreds of tons of sidewalk concrete being torn up at 5am right outside, and sirens. Lots of sirens.
{ seeing Grandpa for the first time since Max was a newborn }
Bellevue Hospital, where my grandma is, is gorgeous. Who knew that a place often containing so much sadness could be so beautiful and historical, too?
We managed to see a couple of friends for bites at Cafe 'Ino and Blue Ribbon Restaurant, conveniently located steps away from the apartment, and Max (via me) also had his first NYC street dog. Yum!
{ Blue Ribbon }
{ Cafe 'Ino }
One afternoon I had time for a leisurely stroll through the West Village, just Max and me. It was nice ambling mindlessly through this vibrant, eclectic neighborhood. There was even time for a cupcake :)
And through it all, Baby Max flirted with every lady in sight, from the random girl sipping her coffee in the cafe to the nurses at the hospital, the cleaning lady in the airport bathroom to the chick seated in the row behind us on the plane ride home. He is a ladies man!
And through it all, Baby Max flirted with every lady in sight, from the random girl sipping her coffee in the cafe to the nurses at the hospital, the cleaning lady in the airport bathroom to the chick seated in the row behind us on the plane ride home. He is a ladies man!
{ farewell, grandma and grandpa! }
*Observation: There must be a shortage of babies in Manhattan. A ton of strangers in passing have coo'd at Max like they've never seen a babe before, including two burly men on the street: "Oh, loooook, it's a baby!"
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