Today we ventured into the Big Apple to see the one and only Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. Last year the tree hailed from the very town in which we reside. I'm not sure where this year's was born.
It is not just the fact that we saw the tree that makes this day blog-worthy, but rather the totality of the adventures that does so. Allow me, if you will, to guide you through our day.
First off, I would be remiss if I did not point out that today is December 21, 2010. On this date, the Winter Solstice rode in on the energetic waves of a full moon and total lunar eclipse. Happy Winter Solstice, everyone! I set my alarm for 2:40 this morning in order to see the eclipse take place. It was an amazing sight. Beautiful beyond words. Such an amazing gift to behold.
The moon viewing did throw me for a wee bit of a loop. I went back to sleep after watching, and upon waking at a reasonable hour of the morning, I had to think back as to whether or not the images were dream images or if I really had been laying on my deck swing at 3:00 AM this morning. Once I got that all sorted out, I got up and went about getting prepared for the day.
We managed to get the majority of our "chores" completed before our travel-mates arrived. As Mrs. M and Mini-M walked in, we were just putting on the final touches. Coats, gloves, scarves, hats all on and we were ready for business.....until Mare and I realized that neither of us had done a diaper check on the KitKats. So, a couple of diapers later and once again we were ready....after we searched through the stuffed animal "bag" for "Lily Mae", found suitable replacements and showed our guests the pink Christmas tree in the girls' room. Off we went.....after a couple of bouts of screaming about who would be buckled by whom. Everyone safely stowed in the van and away we rolled - to the train station.
Now, if you know me, you know that I thoroughly enjoy rallying the troops, bringing everyone together in the spirit of teamwork and camaraderie, no matter the difficulty of the task at hand. (Keep this in mind as you read on.)
Tickets acquired, we made our way to the inside of the train station for a "potty break". Yes, the five minute drive to the train station was arduous and YES, 'twas I who needed the break. The girls (Baby Ruth, KitKats, AND Mini-M) promptly strategically placed themselves in random seats so as to include the other riders in our "team". Mini-M did a fabulous job of quietly "meditating" while the other three (my three young ladies) did their best to counter her quiet. Finally aboard the train, everyone did very well. Arrival at the Penn Station and ensuing visit to the facilities there also went rather smoothly, except for the part where I had to squeeze into an undersized stall with a KitKat and Baby Ruth (remember, we are all about teamwork) who was complaining about the automatic flusher AND the less than pleasant scent of the train station restroom. (Curse my teeny bladder) ;-)
Finally at the tree, we admired her splendor from just a few feet away. We took photos - we even included strangers in our pictures - wouldn't want anyone to feel left out. We took photos for strangers, we bumped into folks that we didn't know, we shared wall space with random folks as we watched the skaters on the ice below. It was lovely. A reunion of sorts of many folks who have never met and will likely never meet again, all in the spirit of viewing a magnificent tree, covered in colorful, sparkling lights.
We admired the beautiful decorations as we made our way to a most delightful bakery where we purchased some decadent treats. Giant red Christmas balls made for a wonderful backdrop for treat eating. Our teamwork activity here consisted of a "who can get the most icing on your face" challenge followed by "who can feed the pigeons the largest bite of cupcake" challenge. We assisted with stranger photos here also, then headed for the subway. On the way to the subway we made sure to make all of the folks dressed in character costumes (from Elmo to Mickey/Minnie Mouse to Sponge Bob and Santa) feel welcome in the city. We gave hugs, high fives, low fives and wide-eyed stares, even a pocketful of change to someone's stocking. Kelsie even gave an NYPD officer a very nice wave and a hearty "helwo".
A couple of subway stops later and we were at our dining destination, carefully chosen by Mrs. M and her area expertise. (A FABULOUS "tour guide", I must say.)
The girls (and by "the girls" I really only refer to three of the four little people with us), once again, wanted to help everyone to feel at home in the restaurant. They did what kids do. Stevie announced that the restroom here smelled much better than in the train station. (Thank goodness!)
Our day concluded with a rather uneventful subway ride back to Penn Station, though I should note that Kelsie decided that she would much prefer to stand on the subway than sit. She also demonstrated her superior listening skills by following none of my instructions but listening intently to the kind gentleman next to her.
We arrived back at Penn Station just in time to catch an express train home, despite our slow moving pedestrian train as we hopped our way down the steps. Okay, so it was just Kelsie who was hopping, then leapt from the last three steps, leaving me with nothing but a mitten in my hand. Thankfully Mare had her other hand. We hopped aboard the train and walked to and fro until two kind gentlemen finally consolidated seats and gave the seven of us a section together. We entertained the passengers on this otherwise "quiet car" by playing games such as "I spy", "how far can I fit under the seat", "musical seats" and by just plain squealing. (Not sure if we were on a designated "quiet car", but at least we didn't get kicked off the train.) Stevie included the nice man behind us in "I Spy". He was a good sport.
We finally arrived back at the beginning leg of our journey and began the stroll to the car. For some reason, the majority of the folks who got off the train at this stop were in a bustling hurry as though they were about to miss the last connecting space shuttle out of cape canaveral. This bustling not only seemed odd to me due to the fact that the parked cars are not likely to drive away themselves BEFORE the driver gets in them, but also raised my concerns with holding tightly to slow moving kiddies who insist on hopping every couple of steps. This concern was heightened as we made our way down the steps to street level. Kiera poking along on one side of me and Kelsie hopping happily on the other. Kelsie also likes to bring folks together in camaraderie and teamwork. She managed to hop herself sideways on the steps and appeared to be falling. However, I still had her hand. Rather than just stand up, though, she decided to turn the opposite direction which REALLY freaked out the folks behind us. Quite a few kind strangers came swooping in to help us (teamwork) as Kelsie finally stood up and unpretzled herself and resumed her hopping. It was at about this point that Kiera's pokiness lead to me scooping her up and carrying her, which lead to a slipping of her mitten. Once again, we worked the crowd by loudly exclaiming, "My Mitten, my mitten!"
I turned and looked - no mitten on the steps. The folks around us looked. No mitten. Kelsie hopped. No mitten. I ensured Kiera that I would find the mitten AFTER we allowed all of the other people to pass by. Kelsie hopped, Kiera screamed and the nice man behind me noticed that the mitten was still on Kiera's hand. (Mind you, at this point we are only about 1/4 of the way down the steps) Kelsie hopped in joy and someone carefully removed the mitten and placed it on Kiera's arm (which was pretty close to my chin at this point). By now we had generated quite a bit of assistance from the bustling folks behind us, and if they weren't helping us, they certainly were watching the traveling spectacle! I'm also pretty certain that a few of the commuters had joined Kelsie on her stair hopping crusade, though I didn't turn around to see for sure. In my mind, as I carried Kiera's mitten in my teeth, I envisioned an entire stairway full of tired commuters happily hopping down each step and squealing with delight at each landing. (Camaraderie)
We are finally home and after only one whack in the head with a plastic baby doll head between the KitKats and two Mommy tantrums (one of which resulted in multiple ornaments being removed from the tree to encourage better listening skills from the 5 yr. old), the cherubs are tucked into bed sound asleep.
All in all, it was a beautiful day with terrific kids and wonderful friends - the type of friends who seem like they have been a part of your life since the beginning of time. A very special day indeed.
