From the first moment that I stepped off the Long Island Railroad onto the streets of New York City, I was in love. The energy, the bright lights, the culture, all of it was very intriguing to me. Over the years, I have visited many times, sometimes for weeks and others for a weekend or even less.
This past summer I brought my daughters to the city for a quick trip that involved cramming as much of the city as we could into 48 hours. It was hot, brutally hot and wet and our hotel was one of those cheap hotels that overlooked an air shaft and had linens from the 80s covering the double mattress. It wasn’t a relaxing or glamorous trip by any means, but then again, none of my time in New York ever is.
It is because of this that my girls were less enchanted with the bright lights than I was. They found the city too crowded, too messy, and too difficult to navigate. Something clicks inside of me when I arrive in New York—a pep to my step if you will, and even though I was pushing a stroller and dragging two teenagers behind me, that trip was no different. I pulled their butts from the upper east side to Battery Park and everywhere in between in the middle of a Manhattan summer. The heat was awful which I am sure that didn’t help their comfort level, but we powered through it and as much of this city as possible.
While planning out this quest to nurture relationships, one friendship, and one city at a time, I knew New York had to be on the list. In the early 2000s, my friend Freya relocated to New York for college and since her departure, our time together has consisted of dinner in the city when I visit, drinks in Florida when she visits and texts and short phone calls in between. And none of our time together has been one on one. She had to be next, and her city was the perfect setting for a day of catching up.
Flights from Fort Lauderdale to New York City are cheap—especially if you’re willing to fly on a weekday, at an undesired time, and on the airline that everyone seems to hate, Spirit.
I almost always book Spirit flights. I couldn’t care less about the fact that they don’t give me a free beverage or that I have to pay to carry on a large bag or that the seats are small—the fights are cheap, and by cheap I mean dirt cheap. I have been flying Spirit for over ten years, and with them, I have gone to Seattle, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Los Angeles, New York, Detroit, and many other places – never paying more than a couple hundred dollars a flight.
My trip to New York City was on Tuesday at 7:15 am which would get me into New York City at roughly 10:30 that morning. Everything looked like it was going to work out perfectly.
And then we reached the Carolinas, and the captain came on the speaker to let us know that due to low visibility in the New York area our flight was going to be diverted to Myrtle Beach and he was unsure how long we would be there. The cabin began to fill with voices asking whether we would be allowed off the aircraft, how long would we be stuck and what have we been doing for the last 45 minutes in the air? As it turns out, we were making circles over the Carolinas, waiting to hear what our next move would be. While still in a holding pattern, I was the only happy person on the flight–getting stuck in an unfamiliar city sounded fascinating… all of this focus on nurturing relationships, I hadn't yet considered nurturing the one I have with myself. But, as luck would have it, we remained on the tarmac for only an hour or so before heading to New York City—much later than intended but in route to our destination.
While sitting on the tarmac, I read a book (Lean In by Sheryl Sandburg), played the New York Times crossword puzzle (the mini), and listened to music. It was a pleasant hour of quiet, at least internally.
This plan to nurture friendships by spending time is a journey in self-care too. By spending time with the people I care for, I will be nurturing my soul with positivity and love. And so, while stuck on the tarmac, in a city I had never been to, with chaos around, I sat quietly and reflected inward and appreciated the fact that I was on my way to see someone I loved. We would now have less time together, but that did not mean that our time together would be any less valuable.
When the captain finally came on the speaker to announce that we had been given the go-ahead to head to New York City, the plane erupted in excitement. I knew we would eventually get there and that someone was waiting for me and in all honesty, time spent with her was worth being stuck on the tarmac.