In
1999, we moved to Hoboken, NJ. I cried all the way from the JFK airport
to our new home. Jake felt terrible. I had never been more than a 4
hour drive away from my parents. I have also never been so homesick in
my entire life.
Jake and I both worked at American Express in Manhattan.
Our commute was a ferry ride across the Hudson River from Hoboken to
lower Manhattan. My first meeting was in a conference
room that looked over the Hudson River with a view of the Statue of
Liberty. It was one of the most surreal moments of my life. Somehow,
with a poker face, I made it through the meeting, but the entire time
kept thinking in my head, "how in the hell did I get here?".
2 weeks
after our move to the east coast, I found out that I was pregnant with
Daniel. Once Daniel was born, I stayed at home with him. Each morning,
we would run along the Hoboken Pier and look out over the river at the
city. In the summer, I would sit down there while they mowed (largest
area of grass in Hoboken) and with my eyes closed, smelling the freshly cut
grass and could almost imagine I was back home. When friends and family
came to visit, we would first bring them down to the pier to show them
the Manhattan skyline and the Twin Towers.
We met amazing friends and
experienced so much of life while we were there. I finally kind of grew
up. I got a little bit tougher. I learned to be a Mom. I met Mom
friends. I learned to depend on Jake. Daniel turned into a city baby and
could sleep through anything (subways,Times Square, etc). I quickly
learned to always carry an umbrella, because when you walk everywhere,
you will get caught in the rain. We moved back home in August of 2011.
One month before the attacks. I will always be grateful to New York and
New Jersey for what they gave me (especially on this day).
