December in New York (City)

It had been years since I’ve live in the NY metro area.  And after 3+ years of roaming around the world, meeting some of the most fantastic people ever, and sadly, a few of the most horrible people ever, I’d decided to head back to the place that I’d always thought of as home.

Oh but wait, someone up there always has a bit of a warped sense of humour.  After I’d had everything set, there were a number of detours to a place in the middle of just about no where.  And the reasons behind them were great enough to make me believe that this would be my very last holiday season in NYC for at least a few years.

So of course I wanted to celebrate it in high style.

I grew up with my folks taking me to the Rockettes, Rockerfeller Centre to see the tree, and Saks to check out the windows for every Christmas.  It was a real treat.  In my mind, that always equaled Christmas.

So after being away from NY for 11 years, I was excited to spend at least one holiday season here.  I doubly lucked out in having a client who was located 2 blocks away from all the fan fare.

But here’s the truth.  No matter what happens, and how wonderful New York has been to me, I’ve come to realise that I really couldn’t come home.

Everything is the same, and yet different.  Everyone has grown up.  It’s almost as if I’ve been in a time bubble.  I have to make new friends (sigh, again).  I’d forgotten how annoying the holiday tourists are.  I’d forgotten how much I hate the cold.  How much I love the outdoors.  How packed the museums are ALL THE TIME.  How expensive the city is.  How my relationship with my parents, as much as I would like it to be one way, will never happen.  How much that breaks my heart.  How it’s a constant reminder when I am so close geographically and yet, nothing I do seems to help.  How lining up what should have been the best surprise in the world can turn out to be one of the greatest disasters in the world.

The best laid plans often go awry and this one was a real doozy.

But wait…wait!  Like all the other tales of my adventures, my fall from grace was caught by friends who have stood by me through the thick and thin.  An old dear friend booked a babysitter to spend a precious hours with me for my birthday and listened kindly as I poured my heart out to her.  My favorite family flew in from the Bay Area to celebrate Christmas with my parents and I.  Jake + his wife were in town post Christmas.  Another close friend helped ring in the New Year in style and part of the way through our meal, leaned over and said one of the sweetest things ever,”To old friends, I’ve really enjoyed all of our meals together”.

And I guess that was when I was reminded of it again.  My true friends are always here for me, even when we are not geographically close.  I do miss them an awful lot though.  For whatever reason, being in NYC for the holidays just reminded me of that.

That’s it, I’ve decided, NYC for my birthday and Thanksgiving only.  Christmas and New Years shall be spent elsewhere from here on out.  Glad to have had one season here again to close out the chapter.