I almost burned you down last year. It was an accident, but still, I’m sorry. I sat up straight in bed back in the city, my heart pounding, fully awake. The clock blinked green - 5:03 am. I had only been asleep for five hours but I could not go back. I could only think of one thing.
Did I leave that candle burning at the cabin?
Read MoreEach year over 60 million tourists visit New York City. In 2010, I was one of them.
I spent a week with a few colleagues at Columbia’s Teachers College during the day and toured the city in the evening. We saw Jersey Boys and walked the Brooklyn Bridge to stand in line for two hours for Grimaldi’s pizza. We took a tour of the NBC studios and snapped photos on the top of Rockefeller Center. We walked through Central Park and followed our noses to Levain Bakery for the famous cookies. We stood on the steps of Cafe Lalo, peeking inside to see where Tom Hanks stood up Meg Ryan in You’ve Got Mail.
Read MoreThe sky was emotional on that early July night last year. Like a mirror for my day.
The great expanse started calm and peaceful, content with its place. Visiting family back home in Montana, I started my day with a pedicure with my cousin and we caught up on life and love, teaching and moving.
Then the sky wanted to show off a bit. The sun turned more and more vibrant as it dipped over the mountains, leaving behind clouds tinged in pink against a purple-red sky. After getting my toes painted, I spent the rest of my day family hopping. My three-year-old daughter learned to play golf with her grandparents; she ran with bare feet through the grass with her cousins; we checked out the new brewery and listened to local music with our parents; and we made plans to go hiking the next day with my brother.
Read MoreOur deadline is quickly approaching. The expiration date we hastily scribbled on this adventure is just around the corner. We promised ourselves three years. Three years in New York City, and then we would reevaluate. If I’m honest, there were moments before we arrived that I didn’t even think we would last one full year.
Yet here we are – approaching three years with a renewed lease on our apartment, a child enrolled in Kindergarten, a career with roots, friends who easily became family, and a church we are certain we are called to grow with and help grow. And for me? Well, there are stories hovering in the air of this city just waiting to be written.
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