A Spring afternoon in Washington Heights

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“So much to do!” I thought as I looked upon our tiny NYC apartment and at the writing projects flooding in on my computer.  I didn’t want to spend a sunny day inside, working on projects and cleaning up and I could hear my two toddlers getting on each other’s nerves in their room.

“Go on time out!” demanded the 3.5 of the 2 year old. “No! You go to time out!” yelled back the 2 year old. “No, you!” “No, you!”

Good grief!  It seemed that our apartment was getting smaller and smaller with each new day!  It never ceases to amaze me that we’ve survived an entire winter here, in the closet we call home.

“Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go!” I hurried, almost at wit’s end as the boys ran down the hall towards the front door, as if it had been months since they last saw the light of day.

I quickly found out that the bright sunshine was terribly deceiving as the chill in the air ripped through my thin leather jacket.

I decided to warm up by speed walking uphill to Jabob K. Javits Playground, near Ft. Tryon Park.

I had managed to nail down the perfect time to come visit the park. As I watched my boys run around, climb, swing, and slide, I realized how I am, more often than not, able to do just that; sit down and watch them. “They are growing so fast!” I thought, feeling a little sadness in my heart at the realization.

We headed over to Heather’s Garden which has been one of our favorite places to visit in the area.  The boys wanted to see if the bumblebees were busy at work, and though I knew they wouldn’t be, I thought the stroll through the garden would be a nice quiet break from busy play.

There’s a certain peace that comes over us when we enter the garden. Somehow the kids have developed a deep appreciation for the beauty around them and insist on walking slowly and kneeling down to smell the flowers as they walk through. It’s quite a touching scene.

Everything was colorfully coming to life around them, and the boys took notice, pointing out the “baby” flowers sprouting from the ground and whispering as they passed them so as to not “scare them and make them sad”.

There are so many things to do here. I looked forward to taking advantage of some of the family workshops offered at the Cloisters Museum with the kids and having picnics in the park as soon as the weather got warm. I also forward to the late afternoon strolls with my family, particularly my husband, as the views from the park are so romantic.

But right now, my boys wanted a late afternoon snack so we headed to Frank’s Market, where they have an amazing bakery (and other selections as well: produce, meat, deli, etc.), to get the boys their chocolate muffins. These muffins are huge and the boys never eat past the top, which leaves me with a lot left over muffin bottoms at home, but, every once in awhile, I let them indulge in their favorite treat. Either that or blueberries and strawberries.

WE slowly head back home, not even realizing we had been out for almost five hours! That is what happens when one gets caught up in the enchantment of the beginnings of spring.

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