One of the few upsides to single-momming is the built-in breaks while R-kids are with their dad. I’m fully aware that I’m getting something most moms rarely see: a day without kids, and sometimes with no plans at all. I’m appropriately grateful.
This past Saturday was one of those. After a late breakfast with a new friend on the patio at French Meadow, I had a couple hours to kill and absolutely nowhere to be (yes, work was waiting at the house, and groceries to be bought, but this break was absolutely necessary, as one wise friend often says). So, with blue-jean-blue skies above and unknown treasures waiting to be found, I set out on my number-one pastime: junking.
Somewhere along the way, at one estate sale or another, this caught my eye:
A favorite author (Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, The Elements of Style) and my favorite city both on one book cover? I must see more. I didn’t have to read further than this to know that Mr. White and I love the same NYC:
Have I told you that I always wanted to live in New York City? (One of several dreams Heather and I found out we shared…)
I still would, but now it would take so much more mula to survive than when I was kidless and starting out.
Anyway, I think Mr. White nailed one of the reasons my heart has always been drawn to NYC.
I love the feel of being alone, but not.
To live in a New York loft with crowds of people bustling by? To blend my life into the melting pot of cultures, stories, faces…
Heaven.
It’s why I’d rather read at a coffee shop than at home. It’s why I live more in the city than in the suburbs. It’s why my favorite dates have usually involved being in the midst of crowds of people.
It’s why I enjoy thrift shopping alone.
Turns out, I’m a person who needs her space sometimes—I just don’t want to be alone while I’m having it.
by julie rybarczyk
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Postscript:
Ironically, I found that book on Saturday. It was September 11. Mr. White’s words about “insulating the individual from…events” suddenly took on a different light. Possibly not so true…
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