I have a lot to say about visiting NYC with my kids, but first a few things I am very into. Have you tried the Spaghett drink? It is the perfect combo of high low and it might just be my new Hot Sicilian summer cocktail. It’s a Miller High Life (the champagne of beers and never forget it) along with some Aperol and a hint of lemon. Yes, please. Taking it on the creek for a float this week.
Also this essay on caregiving from Anne Helen Petersen’s newsletter is a must read for this graf alone (but also for all of the grafs)
Sometimes I think about all this [caregiving] through the lens of a Virgin Mary portrait, of which we have all seen hundreds if not thousands. In the patriarchal fetishized version of valuing care, she stays there, locked up in a glossy painting, harmonious and unconflicted and silent. In my version of valuing care, we start with asking her if we can carry the baby for a bit -- her arm must be very tired! Then we ask her what it has been like for her. What has she learned? What can she teach us? We let her speak.
Now onto an NYC adventure with three children who cannot be contained.
Almost ten years ago I packed up my tiny yellow Fiat and left NYC for the West Coast after fourteen years of living in New York. I lived in Manhattan longer than I have ever lived anywhere else and even though I think Philly is the greatest city in American I still adore NY.
So I was psyched to make a long weekend vacation with my kids and my best friend Jackie this weekend.
So much of it was absolutely perfect, but as I always say traveling with kids is also sometimes (usually) terrible.
The worst thing that happened was that we lost a longtime lovey stuffie.
This was the filthiest, smelliest and most beloved rabbit squid looking thing you can imagine and it has been with us for about five years. It is currently either on a ferry in the Hudson River, the A subway or a bathroom on the West Side highway.
Needless to say her loss was a tragedy of epic proportions and we spent many hours discussing how it was time for our beloved rabbit squid to fly the coop and live out her dreams in New York. We also popped into the Hudson Yards mall at 8 at night to find a stuffy to sleep with. To cheer everyone up I also ended up buying both fake poop and a whoopie cushion because leaning into toilet humor felt like the right way to make the best out of a crappy situation.
Besides that bout with bad luck we had a blast. My best friend Jackie (the one who came to Sicily with me in March) came up with her husband and three girls.
Because I have three feral small children we tried to do activities where they could constantly run around.
Here’s our itinerary.
