This past week, Anton’s 13-year-old second cousin, Jimmy, came from England to visit Brooklyn. It was Jimmy’s first time in the U.S., and we were all beyond excited. This morning, Anton and I were reminiscing, and we thought we’d share photos…
Jimmy lives in a small seaside town in England, and Anton told me: “We were joking around, like, ‘Do you have cars in England? Do you have scooters in England? Do you have light in England? Do you have color in England?’ It was really funny. And sometimes when Jimmy would make a joke, we would be like, ‘Is that funny in England?’ But his jokes were actually really funny.”
Jimmy asked to see a few sights, and we were happy to oblige. “Can we go to the Louis Vuitton store that looks like suitcases?” he asked. I didn’t even know this existed, but when we headed to 57th Street, there it was!
We took him to the American Museum of Natural History, one of our long-time favorite places…
…and to see Times Square at night, where Jimmy did a back flip for a crowd. “He taught himself to do flips in his backyard when he was six,” Anton told me. “He just fully went for it because he didn’t know the consequences were that he could get his neck snapped!”
The boys also begged me to take them to the Chelsea Piers driving range. They hit balls while I did the New Yorker crossword puzzle. “Jimmy told me he wants to ride in a yellow school bus,” Anton told me. “He’s never done that.”
We also just mucked around at home…
…and in the neighborhood. “When we were walking down the street, Jimmy was like, ‘Look at that, look at that,’ because there were so many different kinds of foods — Japanese, Lebanese, Thai, Italian, Vietnamese, French, Chinese, Indian, Ethiopian…” said Anton. “He also loved 16 Handles.”
At the end of the week, Toby and my mom joined us, and we went to a neighborhood café for coffee and magic tricks with cards. Jimmy showed us some cool ones, and I busted out my old favorite.
Finally, on Sunday, my brother and Jimmy headed back to England, and, honestly, we all felt really sad. It’s hard to live an ocean away from loved ones, as I’m sure many of you experience, as well. But we’re so lucky to be able to keep in touch. When my maternal grandmother moved from Manchester, England, to Chicago with her new soldier husband, she could only exchange letters with her parents, until they visited many years later. Where do your relatives live? Are you close by? Half a world apart? How do you stay in touch? I’d love to hear. I know there are pros and cons to every arrangement. xoxo
P.S. Holy smokes, I’ve lived in NYC for 20+ years, and six NYC itineraries for kids.
