A Day At The Zoo!

The title of this blog post could quite aptly describe a day spent any where in New York City, however, the day I'm referring to, was spent at a real zoo; The Bronx Zoo.  First off let me preface this by saying this zoo literally sits in the middle of the Bronx.  The walk from the subway station to the zoo, is a sightseeing event on its own merits. 

On Sunday I finally got the chance to do something I have wanted to do for a very long time and that was go to the Bronx Zoo! We had a wonderful day there and it is most definitely a zoo worth visiting if you are in the area.  It has a theme very similar to that of the Animal Kingdom in Disney World but with far more animals.  In the Animal Kingdom, I have never seen more than one lion and one lioness at a time.  The lion in the AK can usually be seen perched on the air conditioned faux "rock" that sits up on the hill. If you're lucky, you can catch a glimpse of him as you are driven along in the "never good for anyone's back" safari ride.  Here, the lion was out in full view, as were the two lionesses and their cubs.  It was awesome.  The gorilla exhibit was phenomenal.  There are 19 gorillas in the exhibit and all were on display at one time or another. Giraffes grazed in open fields, while animals I had never seen before played along side them. Again, I have never seen more species of animals in any one location than at this zoo and I have been to quite a few zoos in varous parts of the country. This was by far the best one I have ever been to. I loved it! Bo, not usually a "zoo kind of guy", was equally impressed and would love to go back again before we leave. 

Click to See Pictures from the Zoo!!!

Dazed and Confused in New York City

There are things you can count on and things you can't. People fall into that category as well. One thing I can usually count on is my son getting hurt in one way or another. He is still like an overgrown puppy; all paws.  According to the texts I've been receiving, he hurt himself in improv class today.  Apparently, he slipped and fell head first into a brick wall, so hard in fact, that it temporarily dazed and confused him.  He was told he should get checked out, but waived off the suggestion. Of course, he never called me. Not feeling well enough to walk through Central Park, he got on a train.  Where to?  Queens!!!  Apparently, still dazed and confused since we are in Manhattan.  The last text I received from him, he said he had a really bad headache and was heading home. Let's just hope he meant to Manhattan and not to Boston. So here I sit.  Waiting, wondering, "what iffing" and of course....worrying.  :-(

UPDATE:  He finally made it home, but still has a "horrible" headache and isn't feelng so hot.  He seems wiped out. Hopefully he'll have a good nights rest and be back to normal in the morning. I think in addition to the bump on the head, his current mood might be more reflective of how homesick he has become.  I didn't expect this. 

Clicking My Heels!

It's funny what you think about when you actually have time to think.  For those on my Facebook who saw the thanks I gave my husband on Father's Day for always "standing by his son's side", it will give you some idea about why Bo has been missing his father of late.  They are many of the same reasons why I find myself missing him of late too. In addition to the obvious, the fact that he can cook like no one else I know, I miss his sense of humor, which is almost on par with his sons. He is also the calm in the middle of the storm; the one who usually redirects me when my thoughts turn more melancholy than they should. I miss his voice of reason when it comes to our son. His laidback attitude to parenting complements my more rigid parenting style. Bo benefits from both.  I miss his ability to "unworry" the worry in my mind.  I miss my gym partner.  The one who motivates me to get my butt to the gym when I want to do nothing but sit on the couch. It's probably the reason why I haven't stepped foot in a gym since I got here   I miss his ability to "go with the flow", which is what he did regarding this trip. Knowing how important this trip was to his son, he willingly sacrificed a few things along the way to make sure that it happened.  So at the half way point of this trip, I am reminded just how important my family continues to be to me. Yes, it's most definitely funny what you think about when you actually have time to think.

Sleepy in New York!

Well the lifestyle of the not even close to being rich or famous finally caught up with my son.  After a very late night, he finally fell asleep and didn't wake up again until 1:00 PM.  Sad part is, neither did I.

Rather than get out of his pajamas, Bo sat around all day playing on his laptop while humming and/or singing show tunes from the Promises, Promises sound track he downloaded to his ITouch while simultaneously texting a new friend from acting class. He has almost every song memorized word for word. How he does this, I do not know. It's a gift, that's all I can say.

We ordered take out, and aside from staying up to watch the rerun of his Law and Order episode on NBC at 10:00, we are calling it an early night in the city.  I love these kind of days.  Totally rejuvenating.  Hopefully tomorrow will finally bring the one day I've been waiting for this entire trip; a day at the Bronx Zoo!!!!

Late Night Ramblings!

Friday night in Times Square is absolutely crazy.  There are people everywhere and trying to walk down the sidewalk can get difficult at times.  I don't have an imposing presence so people don't part like the Red Sea when I'm coming through.  On the contrary, they actually act is if I'm not even there.  My son, on the other hand, is like Moses when he walks down the street.  People just seem to move out of his way when he's coming through.  Perhaps it's how he looks, how he carries himself, the fact that he's loudly singing "Promises, Promises" to any one who will listen, or maybe they see the Size 14 shoes coming at them, and they don't want to get their feet stepped on.  All I know is they move for him, but they don't for me.  So now, I find myself walking behind him, hand clutched to the corner of his shirt, tagging along as if I'm the child, and he's the parent. 

Speaking of parent and child, although loving this experience at living somewhere else for a little while, Bo is now beginning to talk of missing his father, as well as his two dogs and of course his friends.  On the one hand he is having the time of his life, and on the other, he can't wait to get home and spend the rest of the summer hanging with his friends and annoying his Dad.  Pretty much all of the normal things most teenagers do during summer break.  Here, he is up until all hours of the night, and then on just a few hours of sleep, springs out of bed early in the morning rearing to go. Perhaps he is yearning for his own bed.  Who knows?

My son, my hero. We went to another play tonight.  It is called "Near Normal" and in my eyes, it was "Near Good".  In Bo's, it was "Almost Good".  :-)  We both enjoyed it and gave it a rating of 7 out of 10.  In comparison, Promises, Promises got a 9.5 out of 10 from Bo.  For some reason, I am always cold now.  It doesn't matter what the temp is outside, I'm just always cold.  The theater was like an icebox and I couldn't stop shaking.  Suddenly, as we were sitting there watching the play, my son put his arm around me, pulled me close and with his other arm, started rubbing my arms to warm them up.  I thanked him afterward for doing that, and he responded "any time, Mom...I was happy to do it".  He's maturing into such a wonderful young adult and that moment will be one I will treasure for a long time to come.

My son, my older man.  After the play, we went to Ruby Tuesdays.  When the waitress came over, she started telling us about the specialty drinks.  She seemed to be directing this conversation toward my son, and after she left, Bo stated that he could have easily ordered a drink and got away with it.  I, of course, told him he was full of it, and that the waitress would never have thought he was old enough to drink.  At the end of the night, the waitress came with the check.  I decided I would ask her just how old she thought he was.  She looked him over, and then said "hhhm...I think you could definitely play a mature 17 or 18 year old.  On stage, you could definitely pull that off."  We never mentioned anything about him being an aspiring actor, so why she assumed he was one, I have no idea.  I then looked at Bo and said "See, I told you you wouldn't have got away with it.  She doesn't even think you're 18."  I then turned to her and laughingly told her "my son thinks he would have been able to get away with ordering a drink from you".  She looked at me like I had two heads and that's when I noticed a look of bewilderment on her face.  Suddenly it dawned on me.  She actually thought she was complimenting him by telling him he could play 17 or 18 because she believed he was in fact older than that.  Just how old did she think he was?  At least 25!!!  Slowly I turned to see my son sitting there with his arms folded, chest puffed out, and wearing the broadest grin on his face that I have ever seen.  Why do I do this to myself?  :-)