For the past few days, we’ve been visiting my father in New York City. While Dad’s at work, Yonah and I have been spending our days having little adventures, visiting friends, reading books at Barnes and Noble (followed by a rollicking run through the children’s book section, cleaning up the piles of books and toys Yonah leaves in his wake) and braving the icy wind that whips down the streets of the Upper West Side.

I have never been a New York person, not even when I lived here while I was doing my Masters’. While it’s nice to have a change of scene, my desire to settle someplace small, residential, green and slow-paced has kicked up big-time. This city is so fast and many of the people in it, while decent and good-hearted, are definitely a breed of their own. It really is a world unto itself.

That said, the crappy weather put our plans to go to Philly on hold. We’re going to raincheck for another weekend. In the meantime, I am going to get a Shabbos off; Shuie is taking Yonah to see his parents (now back from Israel), and I am going to stay with friends here. My plan is to rest, hit a meeting, let other people cook for and coddle me and just take some space for myself.