Two girls, one city

This week has been a cool lesson in what happens when you see into the future. Having Taylor, a 17 year old, around makes me eager to share the sights and sounds of the big city with her as if I were a teenager again. But of course, I'm not. I'm a heavily pregnant 36 year old with a preschooler who still naps. Oh, yes, the joys of being housebound every day so you might eek out some peace and quiet and get a cranky girl to rest. Even when I attempt to forgo the nap, Elisa proves it's difficult to go an afternoon without one. Case in point, we went into the city the other day around noon and headed to Union Square for some park time and lunch. Having accomplished both those goals, we started walking towards Washington Square Park for a little more people watching and that's when things got dicey. Elisa played for a bit on the newly improved playground before we headed to the fountain to sit. She wanted to climb in herself (a big no-no obviously), and the answer didn't set well with her. After flailing and screaming on the ground for a bit, we got her to calm down. But I could tell where this was heading. We were not going to have a good time hanging out in the city much longer if she wouldn't fall asleep. And knowing past performances in the stroller, there's no good way to predict when she will do that. So we made our way back home. And then I let Taylor go back into Central Park by herself--a big step in her self-guided touring of NYC, but you have to start somewhere...

It's easy enough to look at this young woman and see shades of myself and my own desire to travel and take off at the same age. I ventured to Europe alone at the age of 19 and made a nearly 3 month trek (with pit stops at friends' houses in Germany and Italy) without so much as consulting my parents. They trusted me and I suppose I had earned it. Who knows why, really, but I am sometimes amazed that they just turned me loose like that. Was I prepared? Can anything prepare you for your first trip abroad or to new and unknown territory? Much like Taylor's mom, Christi, my parents had never been to those places before, so the phone calls home were filled with lots of descriptions and assurances that I was being safe. And in truth, I think that's all a parent can ask for. I hope I will be that parent someday when it's my turn to let Elisa wander off into the great big world without me. It's so much easier to do with a girl who I barely know but who I can see is bursting for the chance to be her own person. Taylor is full of the confidence that only a teenager has and there's something so wonderful about seeing that and remembering that I too was the same way. I didn't get to New York City for the first time until I was 25 and I still remember feeling like I'd stepped into a movie set. It's that much fun and it's still a place I'm confident will return the enthusiasm of its travelers. So off she goes while we rest. Two girls and one city that embraces them both.