New York 2016

Happy Birthday, my Light!

My nephew turned ten this month! To celebrate, I took him to New York. I'm that Auntie! We had a blast!

Waiting for the airport shuttle at four in the morning.

We were on the go as soon as we landed. First stop, Grand Central Station! It truly is grand! The Little Little and I worked through our very first fight in New York here. He wanted to wait outside the restroom while I went in to use the facilities. No, sir! Needless to say, I won that argument, mostly because I forcibly relocated his body. Don't judge me, I had to pee! I didn't have the time, or the patience, to discuss it reasonably until he complied. I got some looks, but I guess they figured that if I could jack up a ninety-pound kid with one hand and carry him a good ten feet, then I was not someone to trifle with. Yes, I'm that Auntie too! Did he really think I was going to leave him by himself in a transportation terminal in New York? Negative.

From Grand Central Station, I took the birthday boy on his first ever Subway ride. I won't lie, I was scared. I've heard horror stories about the New York subway system. I've seen truly terrifying videos on Facebook too! Lucky for us, we didn't experience any subterranean trauma. I've ridden the subway in a number of states, though, and this one was the least user friendly. Still, we managed to get everywhere we wanted to go.

We dropped our backpacks at the hotel and hit the streets. We went to Battery Park, where the Little Little played in the water and posed beside a number of monuments. He was largely unaffected by them, I think, but one of them made me tear up a bit. When my nephew noticed, I explained I was sad to see so many died. He countered by explaining they'd died with honor, in defense of our country. Swelling with pride, I smiled and agreed, but I couldn't help thinking what poor solace that must be for the families of the soldiers whose names decorated the stone.

We jumped on the Staten Island Ferry and cruised past the Statue of Liberty. At least, I think we did. I fell asleep. Exhausted, I nodded off. The Little Little konked out beside me. At the port, we grabbed lunch, then hopped on the ferry back to Manhattan. This time, we stayed awake and got some great photos.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped to snap this charming photo. I couldn't convince my nephew to get anywhere near the bull's ballsack, but there were so many people at the front end, I couldn't even get a good look at the bull's face, much less manage to get a picture.

We planned to go back to the hotel, shower, then get all fancified and go out to dinner in the Big Apple. I fell asleep, though, while the Little Little showered. When I woke up, I found him knocked out beside me. So, I rolled over and went back to sleep. When I woke up again, around 11:00 pm, I took the picture below.

Check out that Rubik's Cube! He solved it in 17 seconds while we waited in the hotel lobby.

After a $27 breakfast, we started day two at the 9/11 Memorial. My brave boy didn't handle this one as well as he did the war memorials in the park. We talked about what happened that day, where I was when I first heard of the attack on the twin towers, and I tried my best to explain terrorism to a ten-year old growing up in a country largely untouched by the violence of our own battles. I cried, of course, which never fails to upset him. I couldn't help it. I'm a crier. These were not soldiers. There was no honor in how they died. This was not a noble sacrifice. It was cruel. It was brutal. To put it in my nephew's words, it wasn't "fair." Angrily, he asked why we didn't do the same thing back to "them." I tried to make it make sense to him. I rambled on about ISIS, and politics, and war. He didn't get it, though, because he's ten and war is complicated, and a war on an ideology is even more complicated than war with an actual government. I felt like I failed him when I couldn't help him understand.

When the world doesn't make sense to me, I pray, so that's what we did. We prayed over the names. We prayed they were at rest. We prayed their families would find peace. We prayed the survivors, and our nation, would find healing.

We passed Trinity Church on our way to the subway station. Despite the Little Little's protests, I insisted we go inside. The atmosphere here gave us comfort after our disturbing visit to the World Trade Center. Even my nephew commented on how peaceful it was in the church. We prayed again, several times. I kept it light. We thanked God for the trip, for our time together, for safe travels. Then we lit candles for our family and friends. This sweet kid then insisted on saying a separate prayer for his mother. I think he just really wanted to light another candle, but I wasn't going to say no to that! So, he prayed on his own, eyes closed, then lit the candle himself.

We got on the subway and made our way to Central Park. By the time we got there, my nephew had worked my nerves raw. If he isn't actively being entertained, the Little Little is prone to insanely whiny behavior for which I have no tolerance. We managed to still have a good time, though. We climbed the big rocks, rode the carousel, and ate popsicles.

We found Times Square with relative ease. We visited the M&M store, Chocolate World, and the Nintendo Store, then had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. Thanks to a preemptive conversation about our budget, my nephew didn't pester me to buy a bunch of stuff I couldn't afford. At the restaurant gift shop, though, we came across a Rubick's Cube with the Hard Rock logo on one side. When the store employees saw us eyeballing the item, they challenged my Light to solve the one they keep behind the counter. Of course, he solved it with no trouble, so they gave him a small tote bag, one you carry on your back. At that point, I knew I had to buy him the cube, as a souvenir. Before heading back to the hotel, we stopped by Rockefeller Center.

Date night! This handsome man took me out on the town! He was so excited to wear his dress clothes. He is just so cute!

We were supposed to go to Coney Island on Sunday, but my nephew complained about the long subway ride, so we decided to skip it. We grabbed breakfast at a local place. Even though we shared a meal, the bill still came to $25. The charger I bought when we got to New York broke, so I had to buy a new one. It took forever for me to charge my phone. When I was finally at 100%, I suggested we take a walk. We stopped to try hot dogs from a street cart. The Little Little complained nearly the entire time we were out. We found the Brooklyn Bridge, but he whined about crossing it, so I just turned us around. We stopped to grab a couple slices at a local pizza place. After we ate, an argument broke out between a customer and an employee, so we hightailed it out of there. We got back to the hotel, rested, then went out for dinner. My nephew wanted to watch one of his shows on TV, so we called it an early night. It might seem like it was a wasted day, but relaxing is an important part of vacationing, so I can't complain.

The next morning, we hopped on the Subway back to Grand Central Station, where we met the airport shuttle. We finally saw a crazy person on the subway, engaged in a very animated conversation with someone only she could see. We also saw a woman holding the subway pole with her ass cheeks. All she had on was a long tank top. That's it. Just the tank top. It was truly horrific. I'm scarred for life now.

Other than that, though, we made it home safe and sound! I will say, though, LaGuardia is the worst airport. If I ever go back to New York, I'll fly into JFK. It wasn't until we got home that I realized the only activity we'd paid for was the carousel in Central Park. Other than that, every single thing we did was free! I had to pay for transportation, of course, and the most expensive food I've ever eaten in my whole life, but we stayed busy and had the best time, free of charge! How amazing is that?