Hello tender friends, and happy belated Mother’s Day! Here we go.
Broadway. Neon lights. Art. Culture.
I thought New York would always be there. George Benson was right: There’s always magic in the air on Broadway. I loved and still love Manhattan with a fervor deep in the core of my body.
At the risk of sounding cliché or blasé, despite all the beautiful cities of the world I’ve visited/lived in, I still remember NYC as the best city in the world.
I currently live 10 hours from NYC. That was never the life plan. I remind myself that God’s ways are higher than our ways.
When a friend of mine from college posted a picture of her son at his first Broadway show back when I had social media (years ago), my heart panged. She and I went to undergrad together in Rutgers, New Brunswick (in New Jersey) and were both in the Honors Program there. She and her husband both went straight to med school after graduation and are both NYC doctors.
I grew up an hour outside of NYC and have watched almost everyone I grew up with and went to college with become spectacularly successful in worldly ways.
I never dreamed of being a doctor, but a part of me still thought That’s the life I had planned for myself when I saw my friend and her son at a Broadway play. Pretty much everyone I studied with in the Honors Program had been groomed for academia or high-level white collar careers most of their lives. They’re reaping the benefits of striving for excellence since birth in many ways, including financial abundance.
The apartment my old friend and her family live in is sleek, modern, and beautiful. The kids attend exclusive schools. (And lest this seem like I’m suggesting they’re unpleasantly uppity, let me clarify: my friend from college and her husband are wonderful human beings).
Here in rural Virginia, we’re living a life that’s…well…quite different.
But you know what? What we have suits us better than Broadway right now.
Last week I took Cub to a theater program at our local library. A student from the university down the road had to organize productions in the community as part of her final project before graduating.
The play was about kindness and pollination, and the kids made a craft beforehand. Just look at that kid in his bee crown.
Here we are watching pollinators have a chat.
In case you can’t tell, we had a blast! The play was interactive, and they encouraged kids and adults to yell out answers about pollinators and other science concepts throughout.
It may not be Broadway, but you know what? I have to stop thinking the life I believed would be best for my kid isn’t possible. Because it is. He’s living it.
Watching Cub smile and create his craft and take home a honey stick and worksheet packet for home, I could see that this kid does not feel deprived. He doesn’t feel like he’s missed out on anything.
My Cub is learning about God’s creation in a family-friendly atmosphere, and this particular production was an amazing learning modality that reinforced what he’s learned from books/from us raising bees two years ago.
My Cub is happy, secure and fulfilled.
That’s really all that matters.
Thinking about the tri-state area still gives me pangs of longing in my chest, and I will be writing about it more as time goes on. But for now, I need to focus on the fact that a free production at a local library was actually more fun for him at this point in time. And truthfully, the healing lifestyle we live, growing our own food and raising chickens, would never be possible if I’d pursued the life I thought was my dream.
What do/did you love about where you grew up? Please let me know in the comments! Take a walk down memory lane with me!
Ok, that’s all for today, tender friends!
I’ll be sharing some validating insights gleaned from the marriage and family seminar we attended last weekend in Thursday’s post. I feel like I’m due for a good food post and some healing information next week.
Thank you so much for stopping by, and have a great day!
Thank you for sharing!
Please click here to return to the homepage.
tea and tenderness 
Leave a comment