Leaving New York
Sunset from the roof of the Met
After 7 years, a lot of growing up, and some early mid-life soul searching, the time has come to say goodbye to New York. Because this is an extremely hard thing to do, I’ll soften the blow by saying, it is goodbye for now, at least.
Empty halls after hours at AMNH
When things come to an end, I inevitably think about death. And I have to believe as an individual belonging to a species of mortals, I am not the only one.
However, during a heartfelt conversation with Nicolas on our Long Island City balcony I mentioned morbid thought and he responded that rather than think about death, endings always make him think of rebirth. As someone very intrigued by fire and its often misunderstood nature, this seemed like a much healthier way to look at the end of this chapter in my life.
Summer afternoon at a Coney Island Cyclones game
Glorious autumn in Prospect Park
Me and my fellow AMNH educators outside of the Rose Center at the American Museum of Natural History
Giant Sequoias, for example, by some measures are considered to be the largest living things in the world. They can live to be more than 3,000 years old, they are incredibly resistant to disease, and their majesty cannot be doubted. They are so enchanting that my Alabama raised boyfriend couldn’t help but give in to the impulse embrace one of these giants. These venerable trees need regular forest fires to survive and reproduce. The change that is destructive and frightening, is at the same time, regenerative and needed. As the National Parks Service so eloquently puts it,
Graffiti heaven in Bushwick
As in other living communities, sequoia groves - and the mixed conifer forests that contain them - have evolved with and adapted to natural processes that must continue if the community is to remain healthy. Fire is one of the major processes essential to the health of giant sequoia groves.
Leaving New York may be an ending but it is also a new beginning, a time to take all of the hard won lessons from my time in New York and put them into practice as I encounter new places and situations. As a person both restless and relentlessly introspective, Nicolas has pushed me to grow even when I am resistant and will continue to push me to be the best version of myself. One of the many reasons I love him.
Taking on leisurely living during the U.S. Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium
But now I wonder, is life best lived at 8mph? Is it possible to keep the “cut the fat” work ethic of New York but give more room for answering life’s big questions? This is my hope as I move into this next phase of my life.
Summer cocktails at empty bars in Hell’s Kitchen
Nice girls enjoying Coney Island weather and baseball
Having said all that, I cannot leave New York without saying a tremendous thank you to the city and all of the people there that I love, and even to those that I don’t, since they all help make up this unique metropolis. Living in New York is like stepping on a treadmill set to 8mph. It makes you strong, it makes you efficient, it makes you savor the moments of repose.
The Statue of Liberty
