Blink

My mom used to tell me, "Just wait. You'll blink your eyes and decades will have passed. You'll look up and see your grown kids having kids of their own, and you'll have no idea how so much happened so fast." 


I wanted to believe her when I was in Jr. High-I hated those years. But every time I blinked, things looked exactly the same...I was chubby, the boy I had a crush on was still dating the head cheerleader, and being the first-chair flute player in the band equalled zero points on the popularity meter. In fact, I think it actually caused my meter to dip down into the negatives.


I wanted to believe her when my second daughter was colicky and cried without ceasing for months on end. But even when I blinked as slowly as I possibly could, she was still howling, whether in her carseat on top of the dryer, in her bouncy chair in front of a running shower, or any of the other mythical colic-relieving places my "What to Expect" book talked about.


I especially wanted to believe her when my oldest would come home from grade school with hurt feelings and a broken heart. How I wanted to fast forward to better days, when differences would be valued instead of becoming fodder for cruel teasing. But blink after blink, her little head remained buried in the pillow, sobbing and wishing to be anyone else but herself.


Today, however, I believe what my mother said. When I looked at the date this morning and realized that it's been SIX months since the day we waved goodbye to Texas and said hello to NYC, I could hardly believe it. Whether it's my ripe old age or just the effect of living in a fast-paced city, there's no denying that all that's happened in this half of a calendar year truly feels like a blink. 


Because it would take too long to neatly list out all that's transpired in our new adventure, and in honor of the Christmas holiday, I've decided to condense the highlights of the past six months into a song, a la "The Twelve Days of Christmas." I will, however, cut the length in half in case you truly want to sing aloud. So, without further ado, I give you "The Six Months of City Life."

In the first month of city life NYC gave to us

The best park in this whole wide world

Central Park, summer 2010

In the second month of city life NYC gave to us

A crash course in Shakespeare

Monologues from Shakespeare's "A Winter's Tale"
August 2010

And the best park in this whole wide world

In the third month of city life NYC gave to us

Concerts and shows

Billy Elliot

Rock of Ages

Mumford and Sons

Sarah Jarosz

Improv for Kids

Improv for Kids

Emma in "The Wind in the Willows"
Fall 2010

Abby in "The Wind in the Willows"
Fall 2010

A crash course in Shakespeare

And the best park in this whole wide world

In the fourth month of city life NYC gave to us

Lots and lots of visitors

Concerts and shows

A crash course in Shakespeare

And the best park in this whole wide world

In the fifth month of city life NYC gave to us

A truly amazing parade!!

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2010

Lots and lots of visitors

Concerts and shows

A crash course in Shakespeare

And the best park in this whole wide world

In the sixth month of city life NYC gave to us

A Christmas like no other

A truly amazing parade!!

Lots and lots of visitors

Concerts and shows

A crash course in Shakespeare

And the best park in this whole wide world

Hope you enjoyed the song. We really do love it here in NYC. 

And, just so you know, I think my husband is much cuter than my Jr. High crush, and I'm thankful that my musical abilities have translated into a very meaningful life. My youngest daughter, who is now 12, sleeps through the night with nary a cry. And my oldest, now 14, has more friends than ever and thanks God every night for her uniqueness.

Things do change. Life should never be taken for granted. Every moment counts. Merry Christmas.

Defying Convention

Labor Day 2010 will go down in Hedrick Family History as a day to remember. We witnessed something truly remarkable, a once in a lifetime kind of thing. Not our typical swimming, grilling burgers, hanging-out-with-friends-before-the-school-year-really-kicks-into-gear kind of day. This was something special.

From the advice of a new friend, I bought a family membership to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I knew it was a great place, but with my limited knowledge of all things art-related, I wasn't sure we would visit enough to get our money's worth. One trip there and I knew I was wrong. We could go every day for an entire year and still fail to see and experience everything the Met has to offer.

So when I saw a flyer for an exhibition going on atop the roof of the museum, I figured we might as well try it. It sounded fascinating...an ongoing construction project of a monumental bamboo structure, set to measure 100 feet long, 50 feet wide, and 50 feet high. Called the "Big Bambu," the New Jersey artists, identical twins Doug and Mike Starn, along with a crew of rockclimbers, have created a network of 5,000 30 and 40 foot long bamboo poles, tied together with 50 miles of nylon rope. An internal footpath allows groups of visitors to walk up and around on guided tours, taking in breathtaking views of the structure itself, as well as Central Park, which is about 110 feet below the highest viewing platform.

As we all got up early, I hoped that waking the entire family on a rare sleep-late-without-guilt day would prove to be worth it. We got to the museum around 8:45 and got in line for tickets that would be handed out at 9:30. When they started sending people away at 9:05, we breathed a sigh of relief that somehow we made the cut. Once we finally received our tickets, the earliest tour available was at 11:30. We gladly signed up and toured the museum until time to climb.

Our little group of 15 started the journey after a brief description of the Starn brothers and a signed disclaimer for any injuries that might occur. I figured Cameron could prove his manhood with a one-handed save if one of the bamboo poles gave way. As we walked up to the first viewing platform, I was instantly amazed with the strength of the sculpture. The colorful nylon ropes were everywhere, adding to the beauty of this unique creation. As our guide described the vision behind the ongoing work of art and the painstaking process of building it, I began to obsess on the courage these two brothers shared. I pictured my elementary school art teacher, praising the children who colored in the lines and chastising the ones who scribbled and doodled around the edges. You couldn't help but feel that the Starn brothers must have been significant doodlers.

We continued up the winding footpath, surrounded by the amazing network of poles. It felt like being inside the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse. We finally reached the next platform, which had been dubbed "the living room." We all took a seat on the bamboo benches, noticing the abundance of bamboo cup holders (apparently the brothers like to host after-hours parties up there) and various bamboo adornments, such as a nylon-rope guitar and an intricate wind chime. Both of the girls agreed that they would like to live there for a while.

Our guide split us into smaller groups for the final platform viewing. We ascended to a spot about 40 feet above the rooftop, able to look out over the entire sculpture. He said the brothers had an image in mind as they watched over the creation of Big Bambu and wanted us to guess what it was. Cameron guessed a roller coaster, and I was quite sure he was right. The rising and falling lines of the sculpture were magnificent. But ultimately, the answer was a cresting wave that portrays movement, power and life. Of course. It was so clear once you knew...you could almost hear the water crashing right there in the middle of Central Park.

As we waited for the next group to come back from the highest vantage point, we settled into the benches and began to talk about the limits we put on our minds as adults. When we were kids, talking about building a 50 foot tall bamboo structure that people could walk through would strike no one as strange. We might even try to attempt it on the school playground, although the $40 a pole price tag might cause us to look for a cheaper building material. 

Somehow as we grow, we become so afraid of looking weird, of sounding outlandish, of having dreams that go too far beyond the boundaries of what is acceptable. We diminish our imaginations and fold everything up to fit neatly into the little box of convention that we impose upon ourselves.

Oh, to defy convention. To dream big and bright and boundless, without fear or disbelief. 

Here's to bamboo, and twin brothers who never grew up.

I'll Be Seeing You...

On one particularly hard day during the first week of our move, Emma looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, "I thought you told me people would come visit us here!  No one has come so far!" 


I am happy to report that less than two months later, we've already had several special people pay us a visit here in the Big Apple.  Here are some highlights:


**My little brother Kaleb and his family came through New York on their way to Ireland, just a few days after we got here.  We aren't nearly as exciting as Ireland, but we were grateful they trekked all the way up to the upper west side from midtown to see our new home.


**Linda Lillard and her sweet daughters had a girls weekend away, and graciously worked us into their schedule.  Let me tell you, these girls run a tight ship when they travel-I'm quite sure they covered more ground in one weekend than we have during our entire time here. I wish I could hire Linda to be my tour guide for a month! 


Here are some pictures of our delightfully sweet lunch at Serendipity.

**Mrs. Webb, my former teaching partner and Abby and Emma's favorite music teacher ever, came all the way into the city from visiting family in Pennsylvania just to have lunch with us!  Of course we chose an Irish Pub, since Mrs. Webb is the best Irish dancer we know.  OK, she's the only Irish dancer we know, but she is amazing!

**For the past three years, Emma played on a basketball team with her LCA classmates.  I am not exaggerating when I say they could not have had a better coach.  Steve Foster, a former pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds and the current bullpen coach for the Kansas City Royals, spent much of his time off the road in the gym with our girls, teaching them not only basketball skills, but life skills that they'll never forget.  Needless to say, Coach Steve is very special to Emma.

Imagine her delight when he called last weekend, here for a 4-day series of games against the Yankees.  We met Steve for breakfast at Norma's in Le Parker Meridian Hotel in midtown.  How fitting that a Texan introduced us to our new favorite breakfast spot in all of NYC!

Steve also pulled some strings to get us great seats for Sunday's Yankees vs. Royals game.  Even with the downpour of rain and no 600th homerun from A-Rod, our first visit to Yankee Stadium was incredible.  Thank you, Coach Steve!

We're looking forward to seeing more friends this fall...don't forget to give us a call if you're in town!