New York City

"The City seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and beauty in the world."

(F. Scott Fitzgerald)

My first glimpse of NYC may not have been from the Queensboro Bridge,  but it held all the magic of stepping off a train, and walking into Grand Central Station for the very first time. We arrived just as everyone was getting off work on a Friday evening, so we hoisted our bags and pushed our way through the streets. The lights were beginning to come on all around us, and those first few blocks of walking were spent craning my neck to look up, attempting to not knock someone over with my backpack, and trying not to lose him. We were staying with friends, and so had to walk through Midtown to get to our destination. It was one of the most distracting walks I've done in awhile ... behind every corner was a scene that was familiar and yet so unfamiliar ... finally seeing a place that you've only read about, and seen secondhand? Pure magic.

But of course ...  magic tinged with reality! After about 45 minutes we crashed into Starbucks for a quick caffeine jolt, a  minute to put our bags town, and a chance to get our bearings. Tired, hungry and a little overwhelmed, it is amazing what a cup of a coffee can do! Refresehd and ready to go, we hoisted our bags once more and set off for a long weekend exploring the city that never sleeps ...

January

January was settling in for long winter days, pulling out the coziest blankets, and lighting candles in the evening. Trips for lumber and watching as 2x4's became end tables, complete with little imperfections that made it real. Learning patience as that same lumber needed continual sanding, elbow grease and working with the grain, not against it. It was the extra scarf and finally buying a pair of $3 gloves. Trips upstate for new traditions and Christmas tree bonfires. Grocery runs and learning how to stock a freezer ...

It was seeing New York City for the first time. Walking through Grand Central Station, stopping just to feel the movement and swell of hundreds of people rushing by you. Finding a tiny coffee shop tucked next to the dry cleaners. Catching your breath as you realize you just walked past the Empire State Building. It was warm pretzels from street vendors and miles and miles of walking. Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge and stopping to watch the sun set behind the Statue of Liberty. It was being cold and cranky, and being held tight in a hug. The lights of the city skyline coming on bit by bit ... 

It was waiting in eager anticipation at the airport, attempting to spot your five foot three inches mama amongst the passengers. Holding her tight and trying to stop the tears. Saturdays spent over mugs of coffee and after dinner games. Introducing her to Sunday traditions and Italian pastries. Cuddling up in the evenings, not wanting to close our eyes on another day. Watching a mother's love transform an apartment into a home. Mishaps and trips to the emergency room. The kindness of loved ones and nursing staff. Chocolate ice-cream and trying to slow down time. Tears and tight hugs and 'I'll see you soon's ...

It was counting it all joy.

December

Little pieces of December that I'm tucking into my heart and bringing into the new year:
driving though upstate New York to find a Christmas tree farm, taking three tries to get the lights just right, carefully setting up the manger scene and hiding away Baby Jesus until Christmas, moments of silence by that same manger scene - attempting to make space for His coming, the crowded baking aisles in the grocery store, early Saturday morning Advent retreats with a hundred little old Church ladies who needed their coffee, hosting dinners and taking two hours to create new recipes, flour and icing and dozen of Christmas cookies, co-workers telling me that they could tell I had adjusted because I lost the 'deer in the headlights' look, hiking through frozen state parks, wrapping up gifts and taking them through airport security, stepping off the plane to be greeted by a nephew racing in for a hug, waking up to coffee in my mama's kitchen, staying awake for Christmas Eve Mass, a house filled to the brim with family members, taking three hours to open gifts because no one could stop laughing, falling asleep under fuzzy blankets, loved ones wrapped close, seeing the old year out, and toasting in the new ...

Mitch and Chelsea [Engagement]

In the midst of packing and preparing for the cross-country trek, I was so happy to have been able to do this sweet couple's engagement session. He's over six feet tall, while she barely makes it past five: the way he wraps her close in his arms is enough to melt your heart into a little puddle on the floor. They started the session out nervous and a little unsure, and by the end of it, they couldn't keep a straight face because they were making each other laugh so much. I count myself blessed that I was able to capture a little of their joy!

1,200 Miles and a Leap of Faith Later

I can hardly believe, but it's been three weeks since the last toll was paid, and we drove across the Hudson River while Albany's city lights twinkled and reflected off of the water. It was a strange moment, realizing that I was in New York and I didn't have a plane ticket home. For a split second I wanted to panic and turn right back around ... but somehow I knew that I could actually do this ... that I wanted to do this.

That first week found me in awe of the adventure I was on: "I can't believe I get to do this!!" That quickly went to "What have I done?!" as I navigated the start of a new job and tried to organize my tiny little apartment. I was dependent on a charged cell-phone battery as I attempted to navigate the Hudson Valley and the dozens of different routes that had me in mental circles 89% of the time. In that week, I could hardly bring myself to unpack since it made it all so real. But the third week? That was the week that found me saying, "I can't believe I get paid to do this!" at work. It was the week that I turned the crockpot on and lit candles in the living room. It was the week that I turned off the GPS because I knew where I was going. That was the week that found me nestled amidst a tiny little parish community gathered to celebrate the start of Advent while the rain pattered against the stained glass windows: the candle-lit church, the peacefulness of knowing that I was right there, in that moment, because I said to following His will ... that was all I needed to know that this was a leap of faith I had needed to take. So as the fourth week begins, I'm back to being in awe of what I am discovering behind this 'bend in the road!'

Notes about traveling halfway across the country: Chicago truck-drivers are possessed, looking up random facts about the states you are passing through gives you great trivia information, Indiana has cornfields--Notre Dame--and more cornfields, don't get a flat tire in Pennsylvania since there are no exits off of the interstate for miiiiiiiles, and I swear New York drivers will run you over if you are going too slow in the left lane. Also, about 2/3 of your plants will actually survive the trek!

October

October. October was fall festivities in all their glory ... hayrides and haunted houses, pumpkin patches and jack o'lanterns. Pumpkin spice lattes and cider. Baby showers and house full of laughing women. The golden blaze of the trees against the October blue skies. Late nights re-watching NCIS. Weekend walks around the lake. Cheering on the World Series. Candles glowing in the dusky, early evenings. It was everything an October should be.

But there was more. It's amazing how the Holy Spirit can use a leap of faith and quickly work to open doors in the course of a month. I'm learning that I have to be careful for what I pray for! When you tell the Lord you're willing to walk through the open doors, He takes you at your word. At the beginning of the month, I was submitting job applications, and starting the interview process. By the end of it? A new job was accepted and a move to Albany, New York was no longer a wish and a dream, but instead became a reality.

And it was in those moments that all the emotions began! Cue the excitement, nervousness, joy, and bitter-sweetness that is the close of one chapter and the beginning of a new one. I still can't quite wrap my mind around it ... for being someone who loves comfort zones, I can't believe I'm on the verge of a cross-country move. But at the same time? I'm ready. Under all the roller-coaster of emotions that have been the past weeks, there is a deep peace which is giving me the courage to pack up my little red car and make the final preparations. That, and knowing that there is a dark-eyed New Yorker waiting on the other end to see where there Lord wants us. God is good. Always. And so, the next chapter of this adventure of life is about to begin. Here's to becoming a Mid-West transplant in upstate New York!