I recently had the opportunity to travel with three of the best women I know to one of the greatest cities … New York. One of my gal pals’ sons is currently in an off-Broadway show that, in March, will be transferring to BROADWAY! (A Lake Nona High School alumni will be on Broadway, people! AMAZING!) We wanted to support our fellow Drama Mama and her Broadway-bound baby by going to see the show before it hits the big stage. So, we ventured out on a whirlwind, crazy quick girls’ trip to the Big Apple. Seriously, it was like 36 hours in NYC … and GO! And you know what? It was awesome!
The first day of the trip was all about THEATRE and trying to stay warm when it was a high of 28 degrees. We stopped for pictures in front of the theatre that “OUR BOY” is performing at and shared happy tears and laughs about his journey of getting where he is. We told everyone we met WHY we were there, and to our pleasure, they all reacted with just as much excitement as we did. We saw a matinee show, but to be honest, it was just to pass time until the evening show – the one with one of our babies in it, doing what he loves the most: acting, playing music, and shining on that stage. It was a wonderful day filled with lots of MAMA pride from us all. And cheesecake. How could I forget cheesecake? When in New York, one must have a Junior’s cheesecake. I believe it is an unwritten commandment.
The second day, we were able to sleep in a bit and relax and just enjoy planned spontaneity. We didn’t know what we were going to do other than head toward the Garment District to check out this cool art installation of seesaws we heard about and get bagels to take home, or else my family wouldn’t let me in the door. We accidently came across Mood, the fabric store on the show Project Runway, and, of course, had to go in to see if we would see Swatch the dog and to say “THANK YOU, MOOD” when we left. We oohed and awed over the architecture of the buildings we saw and just enjoyed the beautiful day and the fact that it had warmed up to 43 degrees. Finally, we found Impulse, the official name of the art exhibit of seesaws that had taken over the area between 37th and 38th streets and Broadway. According to the article I had read about this exhibit, its purpose of being there was “to embody the idea of serialism, repetition, and variation to produce zones of intensity and calm.” But for us and all the people we saw there trying them out, the 12 illuminated seesaws that played music as you bounced up and down were a reminder of our youth and a source of pure joy. I haven’t laughed so hard in years. The 20 minutes we spent trying them out was the biggest stress reliever I have ever had. Suddenly, we weren’t moms, or wives, or grownups with responsibilities. The other people there were not a certain age, race, nationality, or gender. We were all just people, thoroughly enjoying the moment. It was liberating and something we all agreed the world could certainly use more of.
Eventually, our stomachs began to rumble, and the reality of time and our need to eat lunch before our quickly approaching plane ride back home took over. And we left this temporary playground in the middle of the busy New York streets. But I would like to think that we carried a bit of that joy with us.
On the plane ride home, I began to think about the whole trip, about my friendship with these ladies and life in general. That was when it hit me. The reason those seesaws resonated so much for me is because life and friendships are just like seesaws. Life is filled with ups and downs, and most of us are just trying our best to find balance between work and parenting and everything else. It’s difficult. But if you are really lucky, you will have a few good friends in your corner who are willing to go on a trip to New York with you, or to jump on the other side of that seesaw and lift you back up when you are feeling low.
