New York

Not even a week after I returned from Maui and not even 24 hours after Amara returned back from 3 weeks at Sugar Pine, the girls and I took our packed bags and headed off to SFO. We were on our way for a girls adventure to New York. 

Amara had been with me in New York a year ago but the last time Havana was there was when she was 6 years old. It was a long time ago and because she was so young  she only has vague memories. Havana had been asking to go  back to New York for some time but due to resources, time schedules and readiness, it was not in the cards for a trip to the East Coast until earlier this month.

We would  be in New York a total of 9 days, which included time upstate. There is always so much we want to do and so many folx to see, so planning wisely, organizing our days and laying things out was a necessity.

 For our time in the City, the plan was to enjoy the city and to spend time with friends and family. Our first stop would be the Chelsea area of Manhattan where we would spend 3 nights. The small inn was the ideal location. During our time there we visited with our friends/family Mark and his family and Eric. We went to church together and thenEric took the girls (and myself), to the Strand before heading onto the Subway, where we met Mark and family for birthday lunch for his daughter.  We needed Eric to help us navigate the underground so he was our guide to midtown.

The girls wanted to ride the Subway and in all honesty, I did not ride the Subway much while living in New York. When we were in Brooklyn (until I was 7) , we had a car. Once we moved to Rockland, well it was the suburbs and a car was the way to get around. So Eric took us underground, to the stemming hot bowels of NYC to hop on the Q. The entire time I kept ‘seeing’ Havana in future years, riding the subway of NYC, perhaps as resident. 

We had a fun time with our friends, having shared stories and jokes, before we headed back to rest before a night at the theatre. We ventured towards Time Square, were stopped to show Havana my dad’s office on 39th & Broadway. I took Amara there last summer and now I wanted Havana to see the place that was such an important piece of my childhood. My dad worked in that building for twenty years. His work provided him the life he dreamed of as a poor child in East New York and allowed us to have a better life. He worked for Boussac, a French textile firm and the stories from his bi-annual trips to Paris and Germany for Fashion Week, his exiled South African boss (due to being anti-apartheid), seeing the first humongous fax machine sending documents across the Atlantic and seedy Times Square (before it became Disneyfied), are all etched into my being. I can’t look a movie or television show of Times Square without thinking of my dad and I walking the crowded, bustling streets towards his office. Those were some of the good childhood memories and I wanted Havana so see the place I had spoke about countless time. I cried in the lobby of the building and I could tell by their faces, that the girls knew how much that place meant to my heart. 

We had a great night at the theatre, after a slight challenge with the scamers in the area. I had go in my “New York” mode, which the girls have seen in California and on the streets on NYC, where it was a necessary defense they saw why I have the need to “go New York at times.” They see and hear my aggressiveness at times, when sometimes I will say, “ Don’t make me go to New York on you “, to people when I’m feeling stressed. But to see me in action in my childhood home, to see where I pull that energy from and how it protected us, well I hope that they learn a little bit more about their mother and why she does what she does at times.

For the rest of our time in the city, we went to Chinatown, had the best vegetarian Chinese dinner. We also went to our favorite foot massage place there. We discovered this place when the girls  first went to New York. I’ve been going back ever since and they hear me sing its praises each time I return back home. It was special to do this together, especially after walking the pavement for hours.

 We also did some shopping and exploring and taking in the city. The girls thought it was so cool to see the Empire State building at night time, all lit up just while we were walking.  They saw a Marvel movie being filmed just down the block where we were staying and they were curious about all the different types of people and the fast and addictive energy that it New York. It was a really lovely few days in the City.

After we were done in New York, we crossed through the Holland tunnel to New Jersey, where our cousins live. At that point, there was the tail end of a hurricane approaching, and we spent time with our cousins Alaine and Liz staying dry in this ginormous mall shopping for sneakers, having good food and laughter.  We then also headed back into the city one afternoon. The girls found some great stuff thrifting and we got to Washington Square Park. 

Once we were done in New York, we headed up toward Rockland county where I grew up from age 7 until age 18. I showed the girls my childhood home, my elementary school, junior high and high schools. I told him stories about what it was like back then. I also stopped at Rockland bakery, when we picked up some freshly baked yummy bread and pastries. In years past, when I’ve driven through New City, I felt lonely and sad because of the childhood that I had being so different and so out of aline with the culture that was around me. I felt some of that with the girl with me but I also felt a little bit more peaceful knowing that I had my created own family. Reflecting on the life that I built once I left that area brought me a sense of peace, gratitude and an awareness of how hard I worked to manifest the life I have were.

When we were in Rockland County, I made sure to bring the girls to Monsey to hang out and do some shopping. Amara informed Havana to be careful of how she dressed while we stepped into Hasidic territory. They had lots of questions about this religious sect, which I answered and at the end one of the girls said, “It sounds like a cult.”  To which I replied, “You’re absolutely spot on. “ I then explain them why these orthodox Jews are so religious and how it stems from what happened in the holocaust. I also drove by my old synagogue and Hebrew school and explained  our families more relaxed religious traditions. When the girls noticed how close the synagogue was to our house, I explained that was because on the high holy days you could drive or use any electricity and that we had to walk. Same for the Sabbath. That was a bit supersizing to them!

When we were done with our time in  Rockland County, we headed up the Thruway to Ulster county. We headed toward my spiritual mother Bella‘s house. One there, we settled in and the girls immediately noticed the peaceful, calm energy of the house and the land. Even though the house is in need of some TLC, the energy and the vibration is so strong that one cannot help but to feel a deep sense of peace and relaxation and overall goodness in the house. The breathtaking landscape views are like no other. It is absolutely one on my favorite places on planet earth and I was filled with gratitude that I was able to bring the girls to this most special and sacred place.

We were still in the tail end of the hurricane so we had some intense rain and  warm, strong winds during our days on the mountain And it was just lovely! I love hurricane weather and had not experienced it since I was a child. It was like a warm welcome embrace. We got to visit with my best friend Bob and some other close friends, who live in the area. We walked in the town Woodstock when there were breaks in the rain and then when it was the rain came down in buckets, we stayed back at the house, reading and relaxing. Both girls read books and I sat at my favorite spot, doing some work, writing and just taking it easy. It was just with the doctor ordered. 

It was important and meaningful being in the presence of Bella, as she is getting older and I know that she will not be here forever. I was glad that the girls are now old enough to be with her and learn from her and experience her in ways that they would remember. There were many seeds planted around the kitchen table. Where we sat and shared stories and life lessons. Havana opted mostly to read in the room, but Amara sat with the adults, who gave her some good guidance and wisdom on being a young adult and about going forward in life, looking for college and living her life as an adult. 

These were the exact reasons I came to New York. I wanted both of my two small gems to experience the connection with people that had meaning to me, people who then make connections with them. I wanted them to see the places that I love and be around the people that I love. it was just perfect and I was so grateful to Creator that it all worked out exactly as it did.

It was bittersweet when we had to pack up the car and head back towards the city for our evening flight. I was thankful that we would have at least a few more hours to stop in the city and pick up some food and take in some last-minute New York energy vibe. 

I have to say that this was one of the best trips I have taken with the girls in a very long time. We all got along well (for the most part!), we all had great experiences and we all connected deeply with the people in places around us. I left feeling deeply grateful for the roots I have long planted in New York, as well as the roots I have planted in California. And for the branches that reach across to each other.