The other day, I took some time to spend with a very good friend from growing up in Greensboro, NC. Kristen is one of the few that has known me since elementary school, and knowing me in elementary wasn't an easy thing to do....
She is a business owner in Manhattan and I am the mother of three on the Connecticut shoreline. A few years ago, she called me and said, "I'm coming to Connecticut to get a new kitten, can I spend the day with you and your kids after that? You guys are hilarious!" She got to my house around one and didn't head back to the city until well after midnight. During that day she helped me give all three of them dinner and baths, she saw all of my daughter's stuffed animal collections and favorite dresses, and the kids performed their "Tom and Jerry Play" for Mommy's friend Kristen.
Don't ask-you don't really want to know.
That was March of 2010. Finally, almost two years later, I was able to find a time to come to her and spend a day in New York!
First, we hit Barneys- I had never been there before! I promised my daughter I would go to the Lady Gaga workshop. I hope she appreciates that I did. I did NOT buy my eight year old the fake eye lashes or press on nails. I also passed on the Lady Gaga Christmas stocking boot. I hope I don't lose cool mommy points over that. I found something appropriate for her, don't worry-she'll be surprised!
As we were leaving we got in an elevator with Mary Tyler Moore! No kidding-she heard I was going to make it after all........
After that we went to the Museum of Modern Art-despite the fact that I am less than a two hour train ride away, this was my first time there since 1991. The bad news is I had forgotten how many famous paintings were there, but the good news is:
1) I got to see all the goodies of the art world without chasing children around an art museum and getting dirty looks from other visitors. No brilliantly irreplaceable pieces were smashed that day. Actually, my children know a lot about artists from their preschool in Pittsburgh-Frances has been using Jackson Pollock as an excuse to throw applesauce in the kitchen for years...
2) The children have not fried my brain so badly I have forgotten who painted a starry night with thick strokes, who melted clocks out of fear of time, and who spent hours and hours painting waterlilies. I knew the titles, I knew the artists...I still have my cultural literacy...sort of....it just got blended in with the cast of High School Musical.
3) In 1991, Frida Kahlo was not as important to me as she is now. I hadn't lived in Pittsburgh and known the importance of Andy Warhol, I wonder, did he own a Steeler's Jersey? So like everything else in your life, when you go back and re-visit something, even briefly, you can get something new out of it.
Next up was hot chocolate at the Maison du Chocolat-oh my I can never microwave hot water and mix in Swiss Miss with powder clumps and dehydrated marshmallows as long as I live again! Yum!!! It was wonderful to sip sin in a cup while looking up at a stunningly gorgeous Christmas tree.
The rest of the evening was spent as two old friends eating dinner and catching up on Life, The Universe, and Everything. She introduced me to the root vegetable known as the sunchoke. When she came to Guilford we had Subway sandwiches....
The best thing about doing New York with a real New Yorker: 1) I know how to aggressively hail my cabs now and 2) Always put your shopping bags inside a neutral colored shopping bag if you are out late at night.
What a great day....a wonderful gift during the Advent season!
No comments:
Post a Comment