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.