I came home from another whirl wind New York City adventure last night. I was door to door in 11 hours. The day started off dreary but as the morning progressed, it turned into one of those magnificent early spring days. Everyone was walking around with jackets wrapped around their waist and letting their bare arms feel the sun for the first time in almost 6 months. It was a wonderful to share time with my brother's family as we all had our cameras out to capture one of New City's first spring like days. While the boys climbed the massive boulders in the park, we walked slowly and enjoyed having no particular place to go. When you live in the sticks, we take for granted the endless opportunity to enjoy open space. On any given day within a couple of minutes drive, I can hike with my friend Claudia in Miller's pond or go run the blue trail with the dog. After being in New York for a day, it becomes glaringly apparent that we have need to preserve these natural spaces. As of 2006, there were 8214426 people in New York City. I think that 90 percent of them were in Central Park yesterday. Central Park is an amazing place. Concrete, cabs, and noise envelope it, while inside it beckons people to relax or feel invigorated. It takes people away from the harsh reality that New York City can be even if just for a few minutes. Like a city in itself, the park has little districts. You can go to the zoo or meander through Strawberry fields, where I have never seen a strawberry, but the name is nice. You can let the kids crawl over the statue of Balto the dog, do the carousel or sit near the angel which I think is the park's most beautiful destination. You can even visit the chess house or run with thousands of other city dwellers around the 6 mile loop. Central park reminds me of an hourglass while inside time is isolated into a slow trickle of falling sand and outside life tears by at an unforgiving pace. On the long train ride back to New Haven, I thought about how fortunate I am to be the country mouse. Chris's job allows us the luxury to live within throwing distance of a city in a place where green space abounds. In our little town it takes seconds to find a field to run and jump from hay bale to hay bale. While thousands of children will be let lose on a playground in central park on a sunny day, I may be one of the few people that cover a patch of grass in our town over the period of a week. Despite the different topography we are offered in life, we all feel fortunate to play on a sunny day, stretch out our legs and be thankful for what we have been given. Being in a beautiful place on a beautiful day with the people you love...priceless. Try not to let these opportunities slip by.
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