i don’t want to say we’re taking advantage, but emma can always get us a table in a nice restaurant. the hosts always seem so amused to see us, actually. at momofuku, which is trendy and delicious, she even has her own favorite spot (at the bar next to the cooks, so we can watch them make the food). at four years old, she’s better with chopsticks than i was at 20, and she’s a militant enforcer of “zip your mouth when you’re chewing!” she puts her napkin in her lap and likes to go out for macaroons for dessert. i really like this kid.

* * *

having grown up in the manicured suburbia of the midwest, i guess i always figured Bear and i would move away from The City when we had kids. i love The City, but shouldn’t a kid have a backyard to run around in and sidewalks safe for learning to ride a bike and decent public schools? then we had emma and realized we weren’t at all interested in leaving The City. all the things we love about living here are all the things we want to share with our children.

and you know what? she does ride her bike down the sidewalk, and she does know all her neighbors and run around barefoot in the hallways as more and more kids join in the fun. i can think of 15 nearby playgrounds off the top of my head, and central park (among other large expanses of green) is a quick walk away. we have water and bridges to explore, art galleries and museums and a zoo within quick walking distance. for a little free adventure we can walk across the brooklyn bridge or go catch a view of the statue of liberty. we always try to guess which colors the empire state building will be illuminated with at night (it changes all the time). we walk to emma’s school every day and know all the kids and parents. a far cry from the jaded, growing-up-too-quickly kids i imagined this city was filled with, the grade-schoolers at emma’s school have such a nice dose of innocence and respect. new yorkers tend to live in small apartments, so the amount of unsupervised trouble (drawing on walls, juggling glass) the kids can get into has a smaller sphere. we walk nearly everywhere, so my kid knows how to maneuver streets and traffic and directions (and i get to hold her hand every day).

look, i know City Life doesn’t appeal to everyone. but for us, it feels like all the right combinations of community and diversity and adventure. emma is filled with wonder at this City; she thinks it’s amazing. so do i.

that’s the thing i wish for everyone: to be truly in love with where you are, and the sweet everyday things in your life.

* * *

for the rest of this week i’ll be singing Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the NY Philharmonic. this city has given me so many of my dreams, taught me that if you keep trying, you can be whatever you want to be and think whatever you want to think and be proudly and boldly yourself. when i sing these kind of gigs, i am humbled and honored. if it ever seems ho-hum or unexciting…maybe that will be the day it’s time to leave the city*.

(*and by “leave the city”, i might just mean “go to the beach”….which is less than an hour away. add another bonus point for ocean-access.)