January 15, 2014

I Hope She Remembers It …

hannahwindow

Well, that was, in a word, AMAZING!

Going into it, I had some apprehensions. Mostly my worries came from knowing Hannie B’s worries. Would she be able to sleep okay in the hotel room (she’s struggled with that in the past)? Would she be freaked out by the subway and all the noise and people? Would she have fun hanging out with just her old mom?

I’m happy to say she slept like a log, navigated the subway like a pro and had maybe too much fun with her momma!

I hope she remembers it forever. I hope when she’s twenty-four she tells her friends about how her mom and dad took just her to New York City. And when she’s thirty-four I hope she tells her kids about her adventures there. And when she’s forty-four, I hope she goes back with her own daughter to make some new memories.

It really was a once in a lifetime thing for me to go do this with her. This picture of her that I snapped with my phone really speaks volumes about how the whole trip went. She seemed to be on top of the world, soaking every new thing in, going out of her comfort zone many times, laughing, smiling and delighting in even the simplest of things (I’m talking to you, crazy squirrel in Central Park and creepy cat billboard in Times Square) and was truly a perfect travel buddy.

I also have to say, I’m pretty keen on myself right now. I am usually pretty much a chicken when it comes to navigating around anywhere new. I have a Hubby who’s very good at that. But the Hubby had a conference on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday so Hannie B and I were on our own. We covered almost the entire island of Manhattan together, me and my girl. We wore our black and tried our best to seem like New Yorkers instead of tourists.

We trudged around in two days of rain with our umbrellas because New York doesn’t stop for rain. We giggled a lot at funny things like people standing in the subway station in only their underwear or people dressed like Elmo outside of ToysRUs or a man asleep completely standing up in Penn Station. We rated the street and subway performers. We rated the smells that assaulted our senses. We rated the deejays in the stores on Times Square.

We held hands when there were large crowds and linked arms so neither of us would get separated from each other. We snuggled in our hotel room while we waited for the Hubby to get home.  We made eye contact with each other every time she saw another homeless person. I could tell it hurt her heart.

We clapped until our hands hurt after seeing a Broadway show and whistled and screamed for the cute Newsies. I kept looking over at her, eyes all a wonder, thinking to myself, “This is it. This is a moment.” It reminded me of myself twenty-five years ago when I saw Les Mis on Broadway. I’ve never forgotten how awesome that was.

All this to say that what started out as the Hubby inviting me to New York while he was in business meetings, and then turned into a little idea in my head that it would be fun to have my girl along, actually ended up being a journey inspired by God – a chance for mother and daughter to connect and live and love and feel together.

I hope she remembers it. I know that I will never, ever forget it.

9 comments:

Ronalin said...

One of the reasons it was so great is because you love your daughter so much! Another one is because Hannah is amazing and brings everyone who knows her much joy and laughter. So happy you had such a great time, I was living through your experience with all your pics on instagram. Thanks for sharing, miss you both so much!

Erin said...

At 36, I love when my mom comes to town and we do the exact same things!

Sue said...

An epic trip, for sure. :)

Anonymous said...

LOVE!!

don't worry, she will remember. that time will never be taken away from both of you. Savor those memories

Aiketa said...

I'm pretty sure Hannie B. will never forget about this trip! I really enjoyed all your pics on instagram. And this pic here is really great too!

Looks like all about this trip was great!

Apis Melliflora said...

Those precious moments with one child are wonderful. Wish they could be bottled up and preserved forever. Luckily, photographs and blogs can help with that preservation.

She will remember and relive her NYC trip many times over!

The Queen Vee said...

She'll never forget it. What a fun opportunity and so nice that friends and family help you out so that it could happen.

Emily said...

This post made me cry. I would love to go on a trip with T like this. What wonderful memories you got to make with your girl!

JulieB said...

What a fun trip. Glad you have a daughter to do special things with.