Growing up we always had a backyard to play in, lots of room to grow, places to bike, and if we wanted to go somewhere we had to have our parents drive us there. Walking around NYC I’m amazed at the completely different way of life. I’ve always realized that everyone grows up differently, but the culture and life here is almost as foreign as Paris if you compare it to growing up in Pittsburgh, PA.
I’m currently sitting on my roof deck, which overlooks the New York Harbor and an insane, ridiculously long line to get on the ferry over to the Statue of Liberty. A chair over from me is a little girl, about 6 or 7, playing with her toys and speaking in a different language. If I had to guess I’d say German or Dutch. To be able to play outside this little girl’s mom had to bring her up here and let her play outside. Contrast that to my siblings and I just running out the backdoor into our awesome tree house.
 |
| Ridiculous Line for the Ferry |
As I walk around the city I’m honestly amazed at how many little parks and squares there are. I absolutely love it. All the kids playing on the jungle gyms, riding their scooters down the sidewalks and nervous parents running after them. As I’ve taken notice to these activities I’ve also noticed that when parents take their children to the park it’s a whole family activity. Walking up in Tribeca you see so many little families playing at the park. It’s not only a social activity for the children, but it’s a social activity for the parents. Do these types of family activities bring a family closer together? When you have the weekend off and you’re spending it together going to the park, watching your children ride their bikes on the sidewalk or just taking a stroll to a local restaurant I have to wonder if the relationship impact is different.
A typical weekend for me growing up was waking up late, my dad would be outside cutting the grass or doing yard work, we’d all kind of do our own thing and then eat dinner together. We have a great family dynamic and are extremely close. I wonder if our days would have been spent completely together if it would have ended differently? Maybe we wouldn’t be as close as we are today- or maybe we’d be closer?
I wouldn’t have changed a thing about my childhood. As I sit here watching this little girl change her baby doll into a different outfit it makes me think about my future and how I want to raise my kids? Is there a ‘perfect’ way to grow up. I’m sure the definition would mean different things to different people. My first thought of growing up in a rural town is that I would have hated it- but would I? I wouldn’t have known any better.
There was a moment I had on the subway yesterday that I think I’ll remember for my whole life. I was sitting on the A coming back from the Rockaway beachs (yes, it was a long ride) and at one of the stops a mother and her son, about 7 or 8, walked on. They were smiling and seemed very happy. After another passenger left and a seat opened up she sat down and the little boy sat on her lap. She gave the boy a huge bear hug and I could hear her whisper 'I love you' to him. He got the biggest smile on his face and said back ‘I love you a billion times more Mom’. It was so cute because you could tell that the love they had for each other was unmatched to anyone in the universe in that moment.
Life is what you make it and as long as you’re living it to your standards of happiness then who can judge if one lifestyle is better than another?
At the airport on Friday I bought a new book to read. It’s called the Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. She says in the book that she wasn't depressed, but she had not reached her fullest happiness potential. I believe I’m the same way. I’m happy, but I think there are things that I can do to extend that happiness and make it even better. I’m excited to read this book and possibly start on my own ‘happiness project’.
More to come on that book ;)
