I got a notification on my phone the other morning from Facebook. It’s the one that shows you what happened on that day in the previous years. The photo above appeared. It had officially been one year since we move from our beloved city of Manhattan into a quaint suburban life in Connecticut. One year as suburbanites.
I often get asked, “How’s life in the suburbs?” And if you want my honest answer, I love it. I feel like I’ve had a weight lifted off of my shoulders that I never knew existed. In some ways I feel like I have the best of both worlds. We are just a train ride away from the city, while our house gives us the much needed space that we need in a beach town that has wonderful people.
When we were looking for places to live, MacKay decided to take the initiative and look for places while I was away with the kids visiting my inlaws. On a whim, he decided to go for a drive and found our town in Connecticut. He immediately texted me and said, “I think this is it.” Within a couple of weeks we both went back and found our house. Everything just felt right here. It felt like home. And now a year later, we continue to feel that way and fall more and more in love with this place.
While we are loving life in the suburbs, we often get back to the city with the kids. A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated our one year anniversary of our move with a weekend visit back to our old neighborhood. Once the kids stepped foot on the the sidewalk, it was as if they never left. And that is exactly what I hope to accomplish each time with our visits back.
Our first stop was to the playground. This was the playground that the kids have gone to since they were babies. We’d go there nearly everyday when the weather was nice. It’s a place of comfort for the kids and they are always so happy when we go.
The girls are getting so independent on the playground that they hardly need us. It’s fun to watch them run around and climb, swing, and slide.
Although Macks wasn’t old enough to remember this playground, in no time he was climbing and sliding and having fun.
Har’s newest accomplishment is the monkey bars and she was so excited to show off her skills.
And Avery just had a smile on her face the entire time. This was her place and she loved every second of it.
It was a workout keeping up with Macks around the playground because all he wanted to do was climb and run, but the smile that he had on his face made it all worth it.
While Macks napped in the car with MacKay, the girls and I met up with my sister and went to the library. Since Harlan has learned to read, that’s all she wants to do. And the New York Public Library on 42nd street is incredible. We went down to the children’s section and just read books. Harlan read to all of us and and we left with books in hand and more smiles.
That night my sister took the kids so MacKay and I could have a dinner to ourselves to celebrate my birthday. It was a much needed date night exploring a city that we both love and holds so much history for us.
While we may not live there anymore, Manhattan will always be home to us. It’s where we raised our children, where I learned more about myself than I did in my lifetime, where were became our family of five. It’s where we became us. That’s why I’ll always <3 NYC.
