Week 38: He's Coming to Town!

Growing up in NYC presents many fantastic opportunities and many phenomenal challenges. The world is at your fingertips and diversity abounds. Jonah has seen more (for better and for worse) in his two and a half years then I think I saw before college. In some ways I exaggerate, in others, I underestimate. The cornucopia of people that live in this city is, to me, beautiful. Growing up in the Midwest, I would never have known, for instance, how distinctly different people from Trinidad are from those from Tobago. The dialect of French that we hear from the people that live in our neighborhood - from Senegal - still astounds me. 

On the flip-side, the sheer volume of people in this city makes what would otherwise be a mundane task much more challenging. While I don't miss owning a car in this city, there are certainly times when I'm being knocked around carrying Jonah in a stroller on the stairs to the subway by people refusing to pay attention, that I long for the solace of a car and a car seat.

Then there's Christmas. I admit that I often have a tough time getting into the holiday spirit. Our lives are hectic and the holidays just heighten that. I haven't been able to slow down and actually enjoy the season for years. Adding Jonah to that equation has made it both better and worse. It's nice to have the lens of a young child through which to view the magic of the times. There's also so much more to do now to help create that magic that the hecticness is much worse.

Last year was Jonah's first outing to see Santa - we didn't have the courage to take him as an infant. For all the non-New Yorkers out there, I'm guessing your first thought is the romantic thought of taking Jonah to Macy's in Harold Square to see THE Santa Clause - Miracle on 34th Street style. . . However, walking down 34th Street between Halloween and New Years is truly a contact sport. Macy's is a place to be avoided like the plague during the holidays. Every tourist that comes to town for the holidays must stop at Macy's and it is extremely crowded and crazed. Not a place for a stroller. So when we were considering where to take Jonah we both instantly crossed Macy's off the list. We did our research and learned that there are a few spots around town that have Santas that tend to cater more to NYC families also wanting to avoid the touristy locations. We settled on a local furniture store in the Flatiron District that we frequented when we lived in the neighborhood (pre-Jonah). It was perfect! There was a very short line; the setup was beautiful; the Santa was wonderful. The icing on the cake is that they don't have a photographer. No forced payment to someone who doesn't know how to take the camera off automatic, let alone focus lights. They encourage you to bring your own camera. Nice. 

However, Jonah was not pleased. He wanted to go see Santa, but he was not entirely sure what that meant. Kristi placed him on Santa's lap and he was terrified. TERRIFIED. Here's a shot from last year to illustrate:

This year was much better. However, Jonah's been sick all week and is pretty worn out. Who knew what would happen. . . we got to the store and the line appeared to be long. Kristi convinced me to stay and, sure enough, the line moved quickly. 

We got near Santa and Jonah was peering around people trying to catch a glimpse. The store always decorates well with nice stuffed animals and vintage toys which are, of course, for sale. Jonah latched on to a goose, which he insisted was a duck, and demanded that the "duck" accompany him to see Santa. At that point, we chose our battles carefully and let that one slide. We managed to convince him that it was Santa's "duck" and that it had to stay. 

Jonah has been talking about Santa since we made our visit and, I have to admit, it's helping me get a bit more into the spirit.

Photo: This year's photo is my 50mm lens at f/2 and available light.