Hello from Post-Hurricane Sandy NYC! I was going to begin November (National Adoption Month), with a post launching a month-long discussion about giving back, but given the crazy situation in my hometown right now... it can wait a bit.
We are all well. We live on "high ground" for NYC standards, and miraculously our car escaped being crushed by a tree and our roof didn't blow off. The biggest loss we suffered was a loss of patience. Grading on a curve I will still only give myself a "C" for weathering this storm with two small children in a small apartment. C standing for cranky, crazy and craving normalcy.
We were lucky- we know many folks who lost power, had damage to their homes or cars, and who will be digging their way back to "normal" for many months. However, feeling grateful for my own luck somehow did not help me to become a patient, tireless mother with endless interesting craft and game ideas. Lily and Daniel are not really crafty kids anyway, but still, I didn't really try. I also realized that we don't have a lot of toys. By design, I mean, our apartment is small. But after one day confined at home we'd already dug out the never used train set and half heartedly tried out some dusty board games. But then the pleas began for yet another viewing of Madagascar. Still recovering from the flu, I relented. And got out the lollipops and cookies too. Because why not? This is an emergency.
Yesterday we finally got out of the house. Andrew spent most of the day trying to get to work and then trying to get back home again. Today he's down with the flu. Hardly suprising, given that he walked the length of Manhattan in the cold yesterday. The kids and I bought muffins and cocoa and walked past the locked gates of the local park. We spent some time with some other half-crazed kids and their exhausted mothers before going home for "naptime". Naptime being "time to scream, soil our pants, throw our toys around and generally give mommy a hard time until she gives up on nap time", naptime.
This morning Lily's daycare reopened. Did she go? Yes, yes she did. She was one of the first kids there.
Public schools are still closed. So I have one child still home. Any takers?
This weekend has clarified some things for me:
1. We really do rely on public parks and playgrounds. I think I was more distressed by the parks being closed than anything else. We spend a great deal of our free time in the park, all year long. Hooray for public works!
2. I like having a limited selection of toys in our house. But I need a back up. Time to restock the "ohmygoodness look what mommy found in the closet!" emergency toy box. I've heard it's going to be a snowy winter.
3. I need to find some crafts that both kids will enjoy doing and whose mess factor won't cause my eye to twitch. Right now I'm thinking face paint or goo...
How have you weathered the storm?
Here is a link to a beautiful time lapse photo project the New York Times did. You can see the moment that the lights went out in lower Manhattan.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/10/28/nyregion/nyt-webcam.html?smid=pl-share
We are all well. We live on "high ground" for NYC standards, and miraculously our car escaped being crushed by a tree and our roof didn't blow off. The biggest loss we suffered was a loss of patience. Grading on a curve I will still only give myself a "C" for weathering this storm with two small children in a small apartment. C standing for cranky, crazy and craving normalcy.
We were lucky- we know many folks who lost power, had damage to their homes or cars, and who will be digging their way back to "normal" for many months. However, feeling grateful for my own luck somehow did not help me to become a patient, tireless mother with endless interesting craft and game ideas. Lily and Daniel are not really crafty kids anyway, but still, I didn't really try. I also realized that we don't have a lot of toys. By design, I mean, our apartment is small. But after one day confined at home we'd already dug out the never used train set and half heartedly tried out some dusty board games. But then the pleas began for yet another viewing of Madagascar. Still recovering from the flu, I relented. And got out the lollipops and cookies too. Because why not? This is an emergency.
 |
| climbing in one of our public parks in happier, drier times... |
Yesterday we finally got out of the house. Andrew spent most of the day trying to get to work and then trying to get back home again. Today he's down with the flu. Hardly suprising, given that he walked the length of Manhattan in the cold yesterday. The kids and I bought muffins and cocoa and walked past the locked gates of the local park. We spent some time with some other half-crazed kids and their exhausted mothers before going home for "naptime". Naptime being "time to scream, soil our pants, throw our toys around and generally give mommy a hard time until she gives up on nap time", naptime.
This morning Lily's daycare reopened. Did she go? Yes, yes she did. She was one of the first kids there.
Public schools are still closed. So I have one child still home. Any takers?
This weekend has clarified some things for me:
1. We really do rely on public parks and playgrounds. I think I was more distressed by the parks being closed than anything else. We spend a great deal of our free time in the park, all year long. Hooray for public works!
2. I like having a limited selection of toys in our house. But I need a back up. Time to restock the "ohmygoodness look what mommy found in the closet!" emergency toy box. I've heard it's going to be a snowy winter.
3. I need to find some crafts that both kids will enjoy doing and whose mess factor won't cause my eye to twitch. Right now I'm thinking face paint or goo...
How have you weathered the storm?
Here is a link to a beautiful time lapse photo project the New York Times did. You can see the moment that the lights went out in lower Manhattan.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/10/28/nyregion/nyt-webcam.html?smid=pl-share
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