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Posts Tagged ‘Walking in NYC’

A Little Love Note To NYC

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 28, 2020| 9 Comments »

I know it sounds more than a little scary in NYC right now. If I spend too much time looking at the news or pursuing facts and the latest stats about the Coronavirus spread I find myself almost paralyzed with panic or fear. So I have stopped doing that. For my own sanity and well being it is not helpful. I refuse to watch the news, especially the orange bastard who offers little encouragement or insight.

Here is what I am doing. I am staying informed. Each day I get the city alerts and updates. At around 7:30/8:00 pm I get a personalized email in my inbox from Governor Cuomo letting me know what all New Yorkers need to be aware of and and what we need to be doing. I am so very grateful for Cuomo and his direction. He is the calm in this very real storm. We are staying home. We only go out to take the dog and if we absolutely have to get something from the store/pharmacy. We are doing our part to flatten the curve.

I am so very grateful for my girls and Mr. Memphis. We are trying to stay positive. We are getting used to the new norm. We have our ups and downs. We laugh. We cry. We dance. We try and workout. We schedule Zoom, FaceTime and calls with friends. We eat chocolate. We cry. We get angry. We watch a lot of tv. We stay in our comfies. We nap. We read. We stare out the window. We take our temperature. We take long baths. We listen to music. Adriana and Regan make music and sing. We hide. We socialize. We work. We are doing the same things as the rest of you.

This morning I decided I would take Memphis on our normal Saturday walk in Central Park. We were missing our walking buddies, but it was good to have some normalcy. As we entered the park the sun began to rise and a feeling of calm settled in. I couldn’t help but be reminded of how much I love this damn city. It is BEAUTIFUL. It is tough and hard and some days you will wonder if living here is worth all the effort but then it will wrap you up in its arms and remind you of its strength, beauty and incredible community. Yes, we are in the middle of a dark and scary time, but time and time again New Yorker’s are stepping up and looking out for one another. I did not see a lot of people on my walk today and that was a good thing, but those that I did, waved and said “Good Morning” from a distance. A little reminder that we are not alone.

I am having a hard time putting in to words all of the emotions that I felt as I walked, but it felt like deep love for NYC. A reminder that even in the worst of times, this city is resilient, strong and working together to get through this. I needed that little reminder. Sometimes being in your apartment you feel very alone, but walking in the big, empty city, you also realize that in each of the buildings hold the hearts of others just like you, doing the same things as you, and together we will get through this.

Thanks for reading and listening. May you find some peace in your day. Stay healthy, keep laughing and smiling. BIG love to all of you.

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Well, here we are.

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on March 21, 2020| 4 Comments »

Hi Everyone. I guess this as good as time as any to get back to writing. I seem to have a wee bit of time on my hands. And a little bit of nervous energy to get rid of. So, I hope you will indulge me as I bang out a few thoughts on the keyboard over the next days, weeks…

This is a crazy, unprecedented time for all of us. We are navigating an unknown world, not sure what each new day will bring. If you are like me, not looking too far in to the future yet. Right now I am just trying to focus on today and maybe a few days in advance. My brain has been on overload and I already feel like I am a bit burnt out. The constant news cycle and social media blitz has taken its toll. I need to control it and slow it down. Once or twice a day is enough. More than enough. I get it, we are living in the middle of it. And yes, it is fucking terrifying.

Transitioning to remote learning is insane. On both ends, from the school side as well as being a parent of two teenagers. I will write more about this later but can I just say that I am not surprised that all educators and ALL school staff have stepped up in this time of need and are going above and beyond to make this work. But, please remember, this is a learning curve for EVERYONE, we all need patience, forgiveness, patience and please practice kindness above all else.

Like most of us, I am still trying to make sense of this new norm. There have been some meltdowns, tears, anger, frustration. We will have to figure out a schedule. School time, work time, down time, nap time, reading, exercise, binge watching, zooming with friends… But right now I am trying not to be too hard on myself or the girls, just letting us work through our “stuff”. A weekend to regroup and then get organized.

I do love that the girls have been doing adult paint by numbers, we should have some beautiful new art pieces to display soon =)

I have been keeping my sanity by continuing to get up early and taking Memphis on an early morning walk. We leave when it is still dark and return to the apartment when the sun starts to rise. It is at this time of day that I find some moments of clarity and peace.

This morning the streets were nearly empty. I saw a couple of police cruisers, lone runners, fellow dog walkers, a few people heading to work and the mighty sanitation workers. As I passed the fearless trash collectors, I stopped to say good morning and thank them. That brief interaction moved me to tears. All of the good people in the city, bravely going to work. The unsung heroes. It is so strange to see a city like New York with so few people on the street, but I looked around and still felt connected. Lights warmed windows, lone runners still made eye contact and smiled, a good morning shouted from a doorman across the street. We are still connected. As I continued to walk, the sun started to rise and the birds started chirping.

And really, that is all I have for today… the birds were chirping. A new day starts. Not sure how it will all go, but we are all in this together, connected.

Love you my friends, may you all be healthy. And thanks for reading my ramblings.

Here are some pics from the morning walk including the last telephone booths on the UWS, located at W.91st and W.101st. Oh, and a pic of the gigantic bottle of bourbon the dude at my liquor store convinced me I needed 😉

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Wordless Wednesday: We’re Walkin’ Here!!

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on January 14, 2015| Leave a Comment »

If driving in NYC is like the game Frogger, then walking is a bit like Temple Run- racing as fast as you can, avoiding obstacles that are in your way and always feeling like someone is racing up behind you. In reality it can be deadly if you are not paying attention. Today I noticed this sign along our daily route and I thought it was a clever way to draw attention to paying attention.

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Always watch for the cars my friends, don’t follow the crowd and put the damn phone away. Safety first!! Keep on moving, have fun walking and remember when you are safely across the street, don’t forget to look up! 😉 Happy Wednesday!!

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