Through a Glass, Darkly

We realized a couple of things this weekend.

1. We should really travel together more. We always travel with friends or family, and, friends and family who read this, please don’t be offended by this, but it was really fun just to be with Mike in New York City. This is partly because we have been together for nine years (NINE YEARS), so navigating what he will want to do and when he will need to eat is almost like navigating those things for myself. But it was mostly because he is my favorite person and it was really fun to be in New York City with him. We are looking forward to traveling more once he is out of school.

2. Mike genuinely has no sense of direction. Also, street numbers mean nothing to him. “54th and 7th” is like speaking gobbledygook (I used that word for you, Andrea) to him. His eyes actually glaze over. There was a point at which my cousin was showing Mike the street map for the Brooklyn Bridge area, and both of us simultaneously realized that instead of me helping in the kitchen and Mike taking care of the map, we needed to switch places. Because if he was in charge of the map, we were doomed.

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As you might imagine, the corner of 54th and Broadway is rather loud, so I didn’t get as much sleep as I might have wished during the night. So we slept in Saturday morning, which was wonderful, and then we checked our luggage and went to Central Park. I defy you to find a better day to go to Central Park. It was gorgeous. We didn’t get to do everything we wanted (like visit the Central Park Zoo), but Strawberry Fields and Alice in Wonderland made up for the lack of gay penguins. (I did not know that Roy and Silo had broken up!) I have wanted to see the Central Park Zoo for years, but it never works out when I am there. (Are you ready for the full confession? Can you handle it? Are you sure? Because the first place I heard about the Central Park Zoo was in a Baby-Sitters’ Club book. It’s a good thing Mike doesn’t read my blog. He would never agree to go now.)

After Central Park, we went to The Met. I guess Mike can’t bust on me too much for wanting to go to certain Central Park exhibits out of BSC fandom, because he (and I) wanted to go to The Met because he just read From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler for the first time. (That’s totally the same thing, right? My silly teen series and his Newbery winner?) We enjoyed it, and then we hit our limit for art. And then we couldn’t find our way out, so we looked at more art. And we understood how people could hide in the museum overnight. Also, when I went to the bathroom, I looked to see if any children were hiding in the stalls. (That is a reference to Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. I loved that they hid in the stalls.) Finally, we escaped. That’s not completely true, though. We had to ask for help. We went up to one of the security guards and said, “Hi. We want to leave.” And he told us which way to go. It’s a good thing, because otherwise we might still be there.

After that, we did some other things like eat muffins and visit FAO Schwarz before heading to Brooklyn to stay with my cousin and his wife (who is pregnant, yay!) (and has a book coming out in May, you should totally order it right now!). Since I had visited their apartment before, I remembered which trains to take, and I managed to navigate us there without any problems. (Again, let me emphasize how important my navigating skills are to our relationship. No, I could not navigate us in the labyrinth of The Met, but I can navigate the labyrinth of the subway system.) When we got to Brooklyn, I told Mike, “You are going to like it here.” And he did. Now he wants to move to Brooklyn. One problem, though. I like Brooklyn a whole lot, but I don’t really want to move there myself. I would be fine with visiting it more, though.

Last time I visited my cousin, I quoted the following passage on my blog:

“If you want to make Brooklyn in words or film or paint, you must see the way the sun defines the silent streets on an early Sunday morning, sculpting trees, buildings, fire hydrants, stray dogs, and wandering people with an almost perfect clarity.” - Pete Hamill

Maybe it was just that I was visiting in October again, but it was so lovely on Sunday. My cousin said, as he drove us to the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park, that he loves his neighborhood on Sunday mornings. So I don’t think it’s just me. We had the best day on Sunday, brunching with my cousin, reading (Mike) and napping (me) and eating pizza (Grimaldi’s) in the park, and wandering around the neighborhood. It was just a golden day, and I was so happy to spend it with Mike. We have a lot of things going on in our lives right now, and this weekend was the perfect way for us to transition into some of them.

We were very lucky to win the tickets, but I also feel so lucky in general. To be married to such a wonderful man, to have been able to go on the trip, to see things we’d been wanting to see, to spend time with my cousin, to rest and walk and eat great food. It was one of those magical weekends that happen sometimes, and we are thankful that it happened to us.