A Note to NYC

I thought I would write a note to my hometown of New York City today...I just arrived back after moving my twentysomething daughter into an apartment in NYC where she will be spending the summer...I almost got a little teary-eyed as I left the big city on my trip back through the Holland Tunnel to New Jersey...it brought back such great memories...memories of when I was twentysomething...when my parents moved me into the big city...after I was done with college...off to the big city I went to start my new life...oh, to be twentysomething again...I think my years right after college were some of the best...so here's my notecard to NYC...

Dear NYC,

Please take as good care of my twentysomething daughter as you did of me when I was twentysomething...be kind to her...show her how nice the people can be...(I hope she has a nice roommate like I had...and I hope she has nice neighbors too...my neighbor was Mrs. Moneghan...she was in her 80s, but always looked out for me and made sure I was safe.)

Please show her how to eat great food (I always loved Jackson Hole for burgers, and Z for Greek food, and Ess A Bagel on First Avenue on the east side was one of my favorite weekend breakfast hangouts...simply the best bagels...only I first had to run a few miles before I would let myself purchase one...with lots of cream cheese...forget the lowfat kind...who knew from lowfat cream cheese in the early '80s...those were the full-fat days... and days when I did lots of running...not like now...now it's always lowfat cream cheese for my 49 year old body...and no running only walking).

Please take her under your wing and let her enjoy the little nooks and crannies of this great city...the places I enjoyed...and still enjoy.. like Chinatown and Soho, Tribeca and Greenwich Village...the Upper East Side and the Upper West Side...and Central Park...yes...Central Park (where I...her 49 year old mother...once ran a mini-marathon...did I really run a mini-marathon in my lifetime...unbelievable to think I was once able to do that...maybe when I turn 50 I'll train for another mini- marathon...or maybe I'll walk this time...maybe I'll even do the 3-day walk for Breast Cancer Prevention...I'm going to put that on my list of goals for my 50+ years)...take her to Union Square too where I used to buy such wonderful fruits and vegetables and other delicacies at the Farmers Market each Saturday morning.

Encourage her to watch all the people...those that dress up...and those that dress down...the stylish and the not so stylish...make sure she goes window-shopping to Bloomies and Barneys...along Madison and Saks Fifth...and downtown along Broadway where all the trendy new stores are...she must take in all the new fashion finds (tell her also to stop by and check out the Armani shop and pick out a suit for her mother's 50th birthday...see if they have any special deals for women who are turning 50 who never owned an Armani suit)...

Tell her to enjoy the nightlife...(guess there are no discos around like there were in the '80s...but I'm sure there are new twentysomething hot spots in town)...and make sure she sees a Broadway show...maybe Hairspray (I think Hair was still popular when I lived in NYC...there was no Hairspray...no one used hairspray in Hair...they just let it all hang out in tribute to the age of Aquarius).

So, NYC...NYC...be good to my daughter...like you were to me...and most of all...make sure you tell her to invite me to visit for a weekend...so I can enjoy NYC with her all over again...this time as a 49 year old mom ("hip" and "cool" mom)...I can't wait to go back...my bag is packed...ready to make new memories with my twentysomething daughter.

Judi