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9.11.2012

A LITTLE LOVE NOTE TO THE CITY


the humid weather of summer broke today. we awoke to a high of 73 and crisp and sunny skies and that certain kind of dry burning smell like camping. like all the world were stirring the fire before a good, long sleep. 

we could feel it the minute we stepped outside. the chill was ready to meet us at the door, to run right through the fabric of our clothes and dance along our skin. it felt like new school and new pencils and fresh, new chances. and don't you just love new york in the fall? it makes me want to buy school supplies.

(finish it. i know you want to.)

we ran down to the village today in the late morning sun to scope out a slice of pizza and play at our favorite little playground by washington square's gorgeous arches. oh washington square, you little stone lover.

there was some kind of protest going on across the street, musicians were warming up by the fountain, students were milling about carrying fresh backpacks, and i counted no fewer than twelve cardigan sweaters. some with elbow patches even. the sun was just warm enough to heat my bones to jelly. 




living here can be hard. it can chew you up a bit. brandon works insane hours for part of the year (till 5am the other day, woo!) and i had to install a bike bell on my stroller so the millions of school kids clogging the sidewalks can hear us coming and i can get through. some nights when i fall asleep my body just hurts. new york hurts all the way into my joints. and okay maybe huck isn't able to run around in a back yard.... maybe we have to travel twenty minutes by foot and subway just to get to a playground that's huck-friendly, and sure i had to ignore a dead rat that had parked itself under the bench next to me... but still. 

i still feel pretty dang lucky to live here. 


and that is all.

53 comments:

  1. AMEN! the thought of moving from this city truly terrifies me.

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  2. I think I can feel New York on my skin through your words-- and I like that, I really do.

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  3. goodness, your little huck just kills me with cuteness. also! i must know your polish. please, share.

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  4. it's a really, really great feeling when you love the place you live. being in austin, tx i'm very jealous that you get nice cool weather already, since i've got probably another full month of 90 degrees...please enjoy it on behalf of all of us down here!
    -ale

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  5. This was a nice way to remember New York today. Thank you.

    Also, and I know this wasn't the point of your post at all, but I am so jealous when I hear it has 'cooled down' to 73 degrees. 73 is about as warm as it ever gets over here in Ireland, and we're lucky if we get ten days above 70 the whole summer. After another rainy summer here, I'm in desperate need of some sun.

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  6. Target is everywhere. Even on the island. I'm rather partial to those $1 aisles. But you'll never find any place quite like NYC. I agree.

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  7. thanks, natalie. i needed to read that today. sometimes i am so homesick for portland that it hurts, but i am trying to live in the moment and be thankful for each day.

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  8. this is such a lovely little love note. your perspective on things is refreshing and inspiring. thank you.

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  9. "...i would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if i knew your name and address." ;)

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  10. and as usual, i love your perspective & you've got mail quotes :) i think this post is just perfect. i can't wait to visit new york one day. thank you.

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  11. Lovely post. Makes me long for a city more than ever...

    -Holly @ A Year in Wichita
    www.ayearinwichita.wordpress.com

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  12. this made me cry. every part of it is true. thanks!

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  13. Makes me truly appreciate the city of Chicago :)

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  14. HOW can you post that picture and not provide us w/the brand/color of the nail polish?!

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  15. henry looks so grown up and adorable, and i love these words. i feel pulled to new york at least once a week, no matter how good i have it down here in the snowbirds' other home. reading this was my first pull of the week. so thanks, pancakes!

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  16. I really really love the way you write. Please write a novel. I will be first in line to buy it and i am usually a dedicated library gal! You have such a beautiful way with words. I'm very envious. In the best possible way you can be envious ;-)

    http://ducklovesrooster.blogspot.com.au/

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  17. Natalie, I love your blog. I live in NYC. I have two kids to push on a double stroller. I live the city as you do with Huck, always wanting to discover new places, enjoying everything it has to offer. I don't know how long we'll live here. I feel the same way! Loved this post!

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  18. love this post! you have a such an amazing way with words.

    www.modernsuburbanites.blogspot.com

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  19. You ARE damn lucky! It's been years since I had to leave (stupid canadian citizenship) but I still feel that magnetic pull. I love this post. I love the city. And I love all New York moms.

    thestyleofbeing.blogspot.ca

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  20. ahh i feel this way too. i just worry about rent/paying for a little one's school (not like i have a little one, but ya know). you said this perfectly (and to brandon (and you!) - i remember the days spent at the office until 5 AM - it gets better!)

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  21. we were in the same little corner today. thank goodness i didn't witness the rat.

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  22. Huck with his hoodie is the best. And I really need to get myself to New York City sometime in the near future.

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  23. I love this post. This is exactly how I feel about NY and it's all the reasons I wish I'd never left it.

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  24. Would you rather live in manhattan or Brooklyn with your family? Just curious- seems like it would be a tough choice.

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  25. Thanks so much for this post. We're moving to New York City in a few days. Although we're giving up the backyard and that big SUV that I love, I'm so excited to fall in love with New York and to show my boys the city life. Bring it on NYC!

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  26. If I could live anywhere in the world it would be NYC. My hopes and dreams are in that wonderful city. Someday, hopefully.

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  27. I love that although you love NYC you point out the things that are hard. I live in Scotland and everyone tells me how amazing that is. It is! It really is. But they are forgetting that we don't have a car. I walk everywhere or take the bus. It rains almost every single day and we hardly see the sun. But, I do love living here. So what if we have to walk to the park? So what if I have to take the bus just for a play date? So what if it rains? We go out anyway.

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  28. "...but then again, this not knowing has its charms..."

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  29. "...but then again, this not knowing has its charms..."

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  30. Oops sorry about the double comment... And I don't know how to delete. Is there a way to delete a comment? Arrgh. I'm so not tech savvy.

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  31. that's the wonderful thing about cities, isn't it? there is always a sense of adventure...you can never have one figured out..

    have a wonderful new york day...

    mylettchronicals

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  32. I love the top picture, oh and the post too :) But the picture totally made me think huck was one of the little lost boys in Peter Pan. Too cute!

    I love fall too. We're new to a big city this fall and it's different, but I'm loving it. Hopefully we'll make it up to NYC this fall. I'd love that :)

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  33. Sleeping babies are the cutest! I've never been to NY before but it seems to be great :)

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  34. I've been to NYC only once....a year ago. And though I knew I would enjoy it, I was completely stunned at how much that city spoke to my soul. And maybe that sounds cheesy but I'm not really sure any other way to describe it. I yearn...yes, yearn...to come back. I am one of those suburban moms with the big car and the big yard and the big Target (oh, how I love my Target!). And I'm thankful to be here. I am. There is so much that is good and wonderful living in northern Utah. (Oh my...those mountains!) And I guess that's the whole point, isn't it? To be happy and thankful for the details of where YOU live....not where SOMEONE ELSE lives? All the same...I sure do love living vicariously in NYC through you! :)

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  35. Dear Natalie,

    The most depressing thing happened. My copy of "You've Got Mail" is just done. After 12 years of faithful service, my dvd went capput. I tried to watch it instantly on netflix and it wasn't available... *sigh* i know what I'm doing come pay day...

    http://www.everywhimandnotion.com

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    Replies
    1. Oh NO!!! I'm afraid of that day. It's getting cooler here in SLC but not quite cool enough yet to bust out You've Got Mail. I wait until it REALLY feels like fall, and I tell you, it's the most anticipated viewing of the year for me. LOVE that film.

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  36. I do believe the You've Got Mail lover in you will love my new blog header! Check it out!
    xxo,
    Kate from ummmnowwhat.blogspot.com

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  37. I am so envious of your NYC life. Ahhh. And your nails that match Huck's sweatshirt, too.

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  38. You've successfully changed my mind about raising a family in the city. I used to think it wasn't kid-friendly at all but now that I think of it you are as capable of providing a nurturing environment for Huck as anyone else can (maybe even better than) in the suburbs. You have a back yard (Central Park is the biggest back yard of all!!!) and plenty of playgrounds to choose from. I'd rather walk a few blocks to get places than burn a tank of gas in my car in a matter of a few days. You may have just rekindled my love for the city now that I have a family. :D

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  39. great read, thanks for sharing :)

    http://www.counttofour.com

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  40. Huck is just the cutest little boy! And I MUST come to New York again.

    All the best from Germany!
    x Laura

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  41. I love that you are so content in New York, it always seems natural when you have babies to want to leave the city but it's whatever floats your boat!xx

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  42. Things I love about this post: Dumplings, Henry Holbrook, Seasons, and everything else.

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  43. You paint such beautiful word pictures! I've only spent time here and there in NYC but you make me feel like I've lived there all my life - one of my favorite things about your blog. My parents lived in the city for almost fifteen years and moved to Jersey when my brother was born due to not being able to raise him there (though this was the eighties, so things may have been different) but I sometimes wonder if they should have changed their minds...anyway, beautiful piece on a beautiful morning! :]
    -Z
    sometimesztakespictures.wordpress.com

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  44. Being in love with a city is the best thing ever. I am pretty much very jealous, and you made me want to get back to the city I'm in love with.
    Heidi
    www.therusticmodernist.com

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  45. Nat, You've expressed everything I have about New York. I always say, "I feel so lucky"! It's a weird thing.
    This is super cute.

    www.latonyayvette.blogspot.com

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  46. Huck's sweater looks so cozy : )

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  47. we left just before my son was born. we come back to visit every few months now... we'll be back. we're just not sure when. new york, new york. what a place.

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  48. I feel exactly the same and I don't even live there. Your posts always make me feel so homesick for a place I have never even lived!

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