The end to a long, covid-era hibernation

And a prologue to empty nesting, in which I learn how to be alone again.

Last week’s writer’s block reminded me that it’s easier to write if you’re out there living life—and by “life” I mean getting out of my own head and out into the world. One of the things that struck me while I was skimming through the archived blog was just how much we did as a family when the kids were young.

Every weekend we were logging miles, getting our hands messy with paint on family museum days, exploring new parks and playgrounds, driving to farms to pick fruit for the pies we would bake later, and eating our way through NYC. Those early childhood years would build the foundation of what would become fond food memories for the kids—soup dumplings on Mott Street, takoyaki on 9th street, red bean and custard buns on 32nd, jjajangmyeon on Northern. Cravings they already pine for as college students away from home.

In post 9/11 Bloomberg-era NY, the city, for better or worse, was in hyper-development mode and there was always something new to visit and see. We did most things on the free and cheap and I made that my personal mission. I was so adamant to prove to a certain chorus of New Yorkers who were stubborn in their conviction that you couldn’t live in the city for less than $250k a year, that not only was it possible on much less, it was the norm for most families and you could even thrive. We may not have sent our kids to sleepaway camps or vacationed as a family every school break, but I can confidently say that we gave our kids a great NYC childhood.

“Maybe you did it for content,” my cynical voice whispers in my ear. Yeah, well maybe we did? But the less cynical side responds with, “hell yeah! We took advantage of everything the city had to offer!” Otherwise what was the point of making compromises to live in cramped apartments without yards and a driveway? Besides, it was a real joy to relive this city as a parent, walking down familiar streets that I knew like the back of my hand with fresh eyes, and watching the kids fall in love with the all places I loved to go to when I was a kid growing up in NY.