Whirly Swirly

Bebe Bird Flying High at Victoria Gardens in Central Park

Swish....summer is flying by right past our stoop making way for the autumn breeze.  Papa is still on his "summer vacation"with a broken hand.  He recently got his cast off-yay and life will return to business as usual when he heads back to the office-nay.  With Papa home it has been difficult to find the time to write.  Since he has been functioning with one hand less I've been lending my hand and picking up some of his dad duties. We've been busy with the hustle & bustle of daily living and within the hustle & bustle we have been busy making memories while tending to tantrums that come along with 2.5 years old.  But that's another story...

My mama bird far left & her grand babies

On Saturday we returned from a week long vacation with my mother and siblings.  It was my mama birds 65th birthday.  We celebrated on a sunset cruise along the Atlantic in Cape May, NJ.  There were many of us and grand kids galore. There were dolphins jumping in and out of the sea as we stopped and watched in aw.  The cousins loved spending the week together-hitting the beach, flying kites in the evening before the sun went down, eating Popsicles on the porch & hunting for snow crabs.  Life was good.  Quiet no, but then again we are not a quiet bunch-never were.

Yesterday, we jumped on the D train and made our way to Central Park.  Bebe Bird fell fast asleep in his stroller as we walked along the parks entrance where the horse and buggies waited for their next fare.  Alas, when we found our shady spot under the big tree tops in the green grass and took our first bite into our lunch Bebe Birds eyes peeped open.  He noticed he wasn't in Kansas Brooklyn anymore.  The sounds were different then that in Prospect Park, the breeze was different, the trees were different.  His eyes grew wider and then wider with curiosity until POP they were completely open. He lifts his head from his short slumber and notices Victoria Gardens.  A wonderful children's carnival located at the south entrance of the park at Wollman Rink.  And once my inquisitive toddler spotted the flying barn or rumbling roller coaster there was no going back to sleep.

What Bebe Bird discovers when peeping his eyes open from a much needed nap...

So, we ventured forth on a fun filled Tuesday adventure and made our way into Victoria Gardens, because seriously who could sleep knowing that fun was happening all around you. Inside, Papa Bird accompanied the aw-struck toddler on so many rides...like the bouncy frog, or the fly high swings.   There was the train ride and the little roller coaster that paled in comparison to the Sesame Places roller coaster.  No matter. His favorite was the bumper boats which he was able to maneuver all his own.  He smiled.  He felt proud. He was exhausted.

What I love most about Central Park is that it's this peaceful sanctuary beneath the tall tree tops that blanket the park.  There's a zoo, a pool, amazing playgrounds. Central Park is a peaceful little oasis tucked inside the city that never sleeps  To stop and look up past the rocks children are climbing and the breezy leaves you'll notice that you are surrounded by some of the biggest buildings in the world & reminded that anything is possible.  And that feeling alone makes me proud of being a New Yorker and raising my son in a city where yin and yang can coexist.  Maybe it's like parenting where hard and happy can reside under one roof while riding the rumbling roller coaster we call life.

This is Summer

When I was a child summers were full of possibility.  Anything could happen in our adventure loving world.  We felt as if there was nothing holding us back.  When I was a child, we'd run barefoot in the grass, catch fireflies from the night's sky and ride bikes along the sidewalks-no helmets required.   When I was a child we'd dash through sprinklers and play in friend's yards. Summer time was a blessing in my world of kid'dom. A time for setting the spirit free-no more teachers, no more books...you know the drill.

Today, summer offers a similar hint of my childhood freedoms. Being home with Bebe Bird has allowed for some of those carefree moments to venture into our days.  We also got a lucky break this summer...literally-Papa Bird broke his hand after falling from his bicycle riding home from work.  Being a computer programmer with a bum hand has left him unable to work for a month-thus creatinging an impromtu summer vacation in our little nest.  

Papa Bird with his hard cast with Bebe Bird enjoying the beaches of Montauk, NY

This time together has been lovely, its been fun, its been exhausting.  Papa Bird and I started dating when we were 19 years old & moved in together when we were 20.  I can't really explain it, but we have never been the settle down types.  We are more the get up and go kind.  Me more then he.  Prior to having Bebe Bird I spent little time at home. Between work and my social living I was literally home only to sleep (if that).  Our refrigirator was mostly bare as groceries were seldom purchased.  And cleaning the house was optional...if I was working on set or for an upcoming photo shoot cleaning would then become non-existent.  I didn't mind either just so long as I wasn't there to notice any sort of mess. My time was as carefree as a child in the summer time but with bills to pay & money to spend.  In the last two years since Bebe Birds arrival we've been hanging around the nest far more then ever.  I find the every day adulthood responsiblities mind boggling-the cooking and cleaning and playing and living. How do people do it all?  I ask myself this question daily while making dinner and looking at another mess to straighten up-"Dishes again?"I wonder aloud. "How many times do people need to eat around here? Sheesh!"   

But it's summer.  And we are all here-Papa, Bebe Bird and I-together. It's everything we could have hoped for.  Our health, a zest for living and freedom, if only for a short while.  I'm trying to worry less & nag less about those dishes or unmade beds, or those snacks that fell into the cushions of the couch & yogurt on the rug.  This summer I'm trying to enjoy those quiet moments.

Starting the day off right-tea & time

The moments before everyone is up and the hustle and bustle of the day is in full swing  The moments when I can enjoy a sip of tea with milk & with honey while surfing the 'net.  The moments before being summoned by a tiny little boy looking for " mo ba ba nana's".  

This summer we throw caution to the wind in search of adventures: 

Bebe Bird ready to roll

Our time to pile into the car & go with the flow....or to Montauk, NY.  And ya know, that's the cool thing about Papa B & I. We both share a for love spontanious travel.  Montauk was a lovely little refuge from Brooklyn.  It's only a 2.5 hour drive.  I have only been there while working on photo shoots leaving very little time for exploring.  Our recent excursion was a beautiful one where we discovered bond fires & found kites that lit up the nights sky.  We walked the beach and met new friends.  

Bebe Birds footprints

This summer we climbed to the top of the light house and rolled down grassy hills.

A Mama & her Bebe Bird

To the light house we go

This summer we tried new things....like amusement parks & bouncy castles:  

Bebe Bird takes the wheel at Governor's Island  on the vintage French carnival rides

Barefoot & Bouncing with Buddies at Sesame Place

Zoom: the swings, like life, fly by like a blur

As summer breezes by and the day's whirl swiftly past I need to constantly remind myself to live for the now & to worry less about the cleaning and cooking and organizing.  And I know, (boy do I know) that I've written similar posts in the past.  But living for and enjoying the here and now is a constant struggle of mine, one I try to be mindful of. My hope is that Bebe Bird remembers those summer nights catching fire flies & riding roller coasters in the rain & will carefully deposit those experiences into his memory bank where it  will collect interest over the years when he will one day think back of his summer's past, when he was a child.