bookends in NYC (part 1)

 Loved watching a bubble guy at BETHESDA FOUNTAIN.

…and reminiscing that this was one of my favorite spots where we took wedding pictures when my brother got married in NYC (back HERE).

 And making little stops at places like Sheep Meadow and the Great Lawn.

 We had one pretty over-the-moon excited girl in those seats.

I had worked hard in preparation looking up every review I could to figure out the best seats for vision impaired and worried whether Lucy would really be able to see things ok.

I was so happy that she claimed they were the best seats and she could see everything…

 …although it broke my heart a couple times when she was trying to figure out who was on the stage even when it was quite obvious that there was only one person and often that person had green skin…she whispered lots of questions, and I was so glad to be snuggled in close, her enthusiasm glowing out to me and Max.

That is a pretty amazing show I tell you.  So different from Wicked with some pretty heavy modern world themes including technology and anxiety and all kinds of issues teenagers face.

Out of all the people in the world to be sitting in that theater with, it just so happened that during intermission I heard my name being called and found that our friends from just down the street here in the desert happened to be sitting a few rows behind us.

Talk about a small-world.

My friend and I were both pretty teary-eyed as we hung out on that street corner and talked about all the things that show made us feel as mothers.  So much to think about.  Loved having Max to talk it through as well.

The next day was Sunday and we got to attend church at my brother’s ward right there in the same building as the New York City LDS Temple:

I loved being in that congregation….there were beautiful messages shared, but the thing I loved the most was the music.  There was the most incredible organist who just pretty much jammed out the most gorgeous music that you couldn’t help but feel your heart swell up for.  The congregation sang SO LOUD!  Not sure if that’s just a New York thing or if when you hear organ music that beautiful you can’t help but just belt it out, but I’m telling you, every single song had me in tears it was so breathtakingly exquisitely beautiful.

That sounded dramatic, right?  But honestly, it was something I hope I’ll always remember.

Love that the chapel in that building is just on a different floor from the temple.  Of course, we had to “touch the temple” as per tradition:

Lucy was NOT in the mood for pictures so to bad she missed out 🙂

Loved that our friends we had seen at Dear Evan Hansen the night before were there in the congregation with us.

 (We forgot to get a picture the night before, so there we go:)

 Then it was off to the BROOKLYN BRIDGE.

Man I love that place, and I met it with a new appreciation this time around since I had read The Great Bridge this year for book club (HERE) and learned so much about it’s history and construction.

We walked from the Brooklyn side over to the city…

 

 …and each step was just so gorgeous.

 Here’s some of her work:

Good stuff, right?  (Max was trying to help her find the shutter button in that last one…she couldn’t see all that well through the view finder.)

We have some friends who live in London: the great family who took Elle in as one of their own in London when she went to do her internship there right after her junior year of high school (back HERE).  They didn’t even know her and were just moving to London, new to it themselves, but they took that girl of ours under their wings and nurtured her like nobody’s business in that new city.

They have since moved to New York City, and invited us over for dinner.  We offered to bring desert, because, you know, we needed to eat as many of these as possible while we were there 🙂

We talk, talk, talked about everything we could until we had to go.  I just love them so much.

Fun to have Max get to know them too…

…and to have Lucy decide (again) that she is a photographer and she wanted to be behind the camera rather than in front of it.

It was at the end of that great dinner gathering as we were getting ready to head out to the TOP OF THE ROCK that Lucy had decided she had enough walking.  She pretty much decided she’d rather become part of that great family we had dinner with (don’t blame her because they’re awesome), than come with us (don’t blame her on that either, she had walked a lot already).  But we did finally make it just in time to see the sunset….

 …along with thousands of other tourists who had the same idea.

At first I was pretty annoyed about the whole crowd thing, being crammed in there hardly able to move an inch edgewise, but gradually as I took in all that beauty, I got overwhelmed with gratitude for Max and his calmness and Lucy transforming…really able to catch and love that view even with her diminished vision.  And as that happened all my frustration melted into just so much appreciation for that beautiful spot and that we got to be there with all those other people in fascination of what we beheld from those observation decks.

 En route back to the subway we say ROCKEFELLER PLAZA.

 …which was so beautiful all lit up at night.

Ok, I cannot fit this all in one post!  Too much more to say!

So…

…to be continued…