La Vie DeHart: The One Where Mom Comes to Town

I love when life takes a turn from everyday and someone comes to visit. Having my mom in town was so exciting and I had been waiting on it for about 3 months. I had everything planned out. I knew the stores we would visit, and the places we'd eat, but there's always a sense of adventure, because when you just go with the flow, you can't really plan for the small moments, ya know? You can't really write down in your plan book 'early morning girl talk on the pull out couch' or 'be brought to tears by a sidewalk musical artist'. You just can't and I think that is one of the reasons why this visit was so amazing. It full was full of the little moments that you can't really plan for or put into words.

Last week, mom finally came for her belated birthday present from my dad. She stayed Tuesday and Saturday, and it definitely was NOT long enough. She flew in on a perfect 60 degree day. It was a gorgeous start to her visit. We spent the afternoon strolling through Central Park and sipping our Jamba Juice. perfection. It's wonderful to walk through the city on a beautiful day. Everyone is in better spirits and not rushing from place to place. There a relaxation that comes over the city...I can't wait for Spring weather to come and stay.

Wednesday started off a little chillier, but the rain stayed away, so we were happy. We spent the morning having breakfast at a little French bakery before my Chiropractor appointment. Then we made our way to the Financial District and visited the 9/11 Memorial. It was a solemn experience. This was the main thing mom wanted to do, so I'm really glad the line was so short and we could get in. I am looking forward to visiting again when the trees are in bloom and the grass is green. I'm sure the courtyard will be gorgeous. As you walk around each fountain, the names of all the victims and ladders and engines who were involved are carved on the top. Each day you will find a few white roses placed on a select few names, in honor of their birthdays. Before heading back uptown for lunch, we shared a Cinnabon in Battery Park looking out at Lady Liberty.

We met Scott a few times for lunch which was fun. The first lunch date turned out to be a bit of a disaster. We were excited to take her to Le Monde, our favorite french restaurant near Columbia, but as we approached there was a sign telling us it was closed for the day for filming purposes. (argh!) My hunger was clouding my judgement and so I randomly chose a Mexican restaurant across the street not knowing anything about it. We walked in, it was a bit livelier, but seemed good enough. We soon realized it was a mistake. It took FOREVER to even give our order and I had to hunt down our server after half an hour to get a basket of chips, they were out of the rice and beans but didn't tell us until they brought out our food and to top it off, there was a huge party of frat boys and sorority girls getting completely drunk (at 1pm).The one good thing, the food actually tasted good. But geesh. The service was abysmal! Scott barely had time to eat his meal before he had to head back! But, mom took it in stride and just chocked it up to an experience. We made up for it by going home and taking a glorious nap before I had to walk the dogs. We did end up going to Le Monde on her last day here, and it was worth the wait.

We bought mom a 7 day subway pass so we could hop on and off anytime we wanted. She really got the hang of Subway travel. Once she got past the shock of how fast the trains sped into the station before screeching to a halt, she looked like local. It was funny, she would get nervous and want me to step further away from the edge. New York is very fast paced especially when commuting on the trains, and mom handled it like a pro, she never had a problem keeping up and never complained when there was a crowded train, it was like she was born for this!

Twice we took the subway down to Greenwich Village for some amazing Amorino Gelato. This was the one thing that Scott insisted he do as well. One of the neatest moments probably came from the first night we went for Gelato, it was dark and a little rainy. We took mom through Washington Square Park to see the arch. As we approached we heard this beautiful music wafting through the air. There, under the arch, sheltered from the rain, was an elderly black man playing some slow tunes on his Saxophone, with about 5 people looking on. We stood there for a few minutes unable to leave, it was so moving. This was one of those moments that will stick with you for a long time. I rarely give change to musicians, but when they are incredible and really touch my soul, I definitely throw some money in their instrument case. One girl walked away when he finished with tears coming down her cheeks. You just can't plan moments like that.

On mom's last day we met Scott for lunch and meandered around the Columbia University area. We bought some chocolates and found the most adorable little bookshop. We made our way through Central Park one last time to the Upper East Side and made it a priority to buy some Macaroons at Laduree. She barely noticed all the swanky stores (Alexander McQueen, Chanel, Jimmy Choo...) because she was determined to see a celebrity before she left. But alas, we did not, hopefully next time! I think my favorite part of the entire visit was that we didn't rush around to see the city the entire time. It was a very relaxing visit. We kept the bed pulled out and would spend the morning just relaxing, watching TV and talking before we would go out for the afternoon. The last night, the three of us had pizza delivered and all piled on the pull out bed and watched You've Got Mail. Pretty much the perfect ending to a perfect visit.