I love the city. I really do.
But you may have deduced that I am not the biggest fan of raising my kids here. It’s just really hard. Really, really hard.
Well, for many of us, anyway. It looks (from a distance) to be somewhat enjoyable when you can afford $40,000 a year preschools, a full time nanny (or three) and a driver…or at least enough cab fare to keep you far away from trains and buses. For the rest of us, notsomuch.
However, even though I dream of moving to the suburbs until the kids are in college, I sometimes have days where I am happy we are here for now. Days that are crazy…but also, I can admit, pretty exciting.
So, Thursday night we ended up in the ER.
See? Exciting!
Carlitos had apparently bumped his head that afternoon at the park and at dinner was showing signs of a concussion. My husband was at class, so I quickly got them in their pajamas, buckled them in their car seats and raced to the hospital. Thankfully, Carlitos’ Godfather was nearby and met us there, since a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old at bedtime at the hospital is no fun for a single mom. We were assigned the World’s Most Laid Back Doctor and were in and out in about 2 hours. But we all ended up going to sleep very late due to all of the commotion.
The next day, the boys were an exhausted, sloppy, clingy mess. I ended up working from home because it was just too much to leave them in that state.
After a late night hospital visit and a day of work, the next logical event was…fashion show! Right? No? You sure?
Well, perhaps I can admit that here is where being a mommy in the city can sometimes be more fun than the suburbs. I got to go to my first NYC Fashion Week Fashion Show.
The designer is a friend, Paola Hernandez, and her show was amazing. Her shoes are seriously to be devoured. Since I am still ‘cleansing’ I had to pass up hibiscus margaritas and XX cervezas, but it was still so fun to get dressed up and see her beautiful designs up close. I also got to meet fabulous people…one of whom was even my same breed: Business Woman AND Brooklyn Mom!
Did I mention that on my way into the event I happened to run into a student from one of the French classes I taught in the Spring? He was with his celebrity dad, who shall remain nameless because in New York we never tell such things…or even act like we care that we are in their presence. It’s just how it’s done. (I’ve come a long way from when I used to visit my best friend here in my early 20’s and one time begged asked Ice-T to take a picture with me…with Coco glaring at me in the background. Kidding. My booty was no threat.) So, yeah, that just kind of ‘happened’ right before the fashion show.
Within an hour, I was thrust back into reality.
I raced home and with Friday rush-hour traffic didn’t even have time to change before showing up at Carlitos’ first soccer practice. I can assure you I was the only one on the entire field dressed like this:
Watching Carlitos dribble the ball and yell “Goooooooo Brooklyn Patriots!” was so darn cute I didn’t have time to pay attention to any quizzical looks I may have received. What? Soccer moms totally wear open toed wedge booties on the field.
Because this is a story about 24 hours in the life of a NYC Mom, we obviously stopped by our neighborhood pizzeria to get the boys a slice for dinner. (That’s shorthand for ‘slice of pizza.’ It’s as New York as I will ever get regarding pizza. I refuse to ever use the term ‘pie.’ You have my permission to smack me if I ever do.)
Maybe someday I’ll be driving around the suburbs in a minivan with baggy capris on running between multiple sporting events and thinking back on this day. Fantasizing that city living was so thrilling and glamorous. If I ever confide those feelings to you, please say the following three words to me:
Pregnant, Stroller, Subway
That should be enough of a reality check.
If not, try: Bed bugs.
Or even worse: School.
That’ll do the trick.
