21. You will laugh from the time all of you pile into the car. You'll sing the wrong words to songs for the whole drive to the bus stop and agree that you all actually sound pretty good singing (however off-key) together.20. You'll discover pulling into a parking garage and driving around looking for a spot for 15 minutes costs $4.00 even if it's full. And you'll randomly complain about that fact for a long time after. That $4.00 could have bought you a cupcake at Magnolia Bakery.19. Your family will bust out the Greek music and dance around the bus stop until someone tries giving them a tip for their performance. Then you will all realize, oops, you really did look like sidewalk entertainment.18. One member of your girly band will somehow not be familiar with the menu at McDonald's (that has only changed slightly in the past twenty years) and will proceed to annoy the entire line of people behind you by asking what ingredients are in each item she wants. One of you will need to come to the rescue and just order for her, pull her to the side and smile apologetically at the angry mob.17. Once you get on the bus, there will be no time to catch up on missed soap opera episodes and the book you brought is really just extra weight because there is too much girl talk to catch up on. You will soon realize that you have taken over the entire bottom level of the bus and now everyone is acting as crazy as you. When it's time to get off, the bus driver will thank you for the funniest route he's had in awhile. And that just makes you start laughing all over again.16. After about four hours into the bus trip, the cautious member of the group, who already forbids hotel room numbers to be said aloud once in the actual hotel, will decide it may be safer to have alias' rather than use your real names. So you will all burn countless calories laughing as you pick out what movie character the person sitting to your right resembles. In my defense, we were all a bit delirious by this point.15. When you finally approach Lincoln Tunnel, you'll realize how lucky you are to be with a group of ladies who loves you so much that they'll give the best seat on the bus to the girl seeing the Big City for the first time. And will then pay more attention to your reaction than the twinkling lights of NYC.14. You'll take two separate cabs to the hotel and make a solid plan on who is to arrive first and which entrances to use to get to the hotel room that is only booked for two, since there are six of you. You will stick to this entrance/exit plan for the duration of the trip. Until one of you forgets who her partner is and nearly blows your cover.13. Frank Sinatra's New York, New York will wake you up every morning at 5:30 a.m. sharp because no one ever looks back on life and remembers the times they got a good night's sleep. You will remind them of this fact, every morning at 5:31 a.m. They will nod their heads in agreement and mumble muffled assurances that they understand the importance of adhering to the schedule.12. You will fight over pizza in Times Square and cry because, well, that's what girls do. The fact that the whole restaurant is looking at you because your group of six is louder than the rest of the place, is completely irrelevant. You'll compare stories about how awesome your kids, men and the joys of motherhood are. The grandmothers impart their wisdom to the young moms and the young wives/moms will share their experiences with the nearly engaged cousin. Lots of good stuff in those conversations.11. You'll cry and be filled with pride the minute you see Lady Liberty standing tall in the harbor. And you will hug each other in Ellis Island when looking at everything your family went through to reach America and give you the life you have today. You will walk through the halls whispering prayers for all of the people who passed through the Gateway to America. You'll realize later that you don't have a single good photo of yourself in front of the Statue of Liberty because the person in charge of taking those photos was hitting the wrong button. And you'll laugh some more, because really, what else is there to do?10. The N train will take you to Astoria, bka Greek Town, where you'll meet up with one of your favorite theo's (uncles) and he'll treat you to the best frappe and baklava you've ever had, at the cutest Greek cafe you've ever seen. You'll take a pic in front of the METAXA ad to send to hubby because you know it will make him proud. You'll realize you know more Greek than you thought and will be reunited with long lost cousins. You will grab a few free Greek newspapers next to the door on your way out, and only get about 10 yards before you realize they weren't really free. Luckily, the cashier is understanding. Then, your Theo will laugh at you and send you off with bags full of "elliniko goodies" to ease your embarrassment.09. You will shop at the cutest boutiques ever in SoHo, where you buy a new diary and fountain pen (your favorite purchase of the whole trip) from Katie's Paperie, and eat the best homemade Italian food ever in Little Italy. When walking to China Town you will ask an Asian girl if she got her gorgeous handbag from China Town and she will look like she wants to kill you when she tells you, it is in fact, from Sak's. And costs $1200.00. Your best girls will remind you not to do that again because no one has enough extra money to cover medical expenses.08. Going to Liturgy in a new church on Sunday makes you realize no matter where you go, you're home.07. You will feel eleven years old again, when you walk into the American Girl Store. No one even notices when you literally jump for joy and try to find your size in Kit's matching nightgown. You and your sister will buy your mom her first ever American Girl doll and are more than happy to use the majority of your stash on that purchase.06. When you are all feeling a bit lazy, you'll head to Central Park where you'll choose a bicycle tour with the funniest drivers ever, both of who happen to be Orthodox! Eric and Francois (see, we aren't the only ones with alias'), will make you laugh your heads off while showing you around the park and city. You will even bestow a bit of wisdom upon them by telling them that Christopher Columbus, is in fact Greek. They will laugh at first, but after explaining the reasoning behind this theory, they will wonder.05. You'll stroll up and down Fifth Avenue with your beauties by your side feeling like the six of you are on top of the world. And at that moment, you are. You will shop till you drop and smile at how much more fun it is trying on clothes when you're sisters are in the dressing rooms next to you. You'll love that someone is there to talk you out of a shirt that is unanimously awful and love it even more when you finally get ten thumbs up.04. All six of you will order a different dessert so that you can each have a few bites of almost everything on the menu. you'll trade forks as you reminisce on old memories and you'll marvel at how quickly you feel like you again when you're with these ladies; how the real you comes out so naturally around certain people and how great that feels.03. You'll laugh at the same things, misunderstand the same things, sing the same favorite tunes, love and hate all of the same things. There is no denying you're family.02. As you wait for the bus to take you back home, you realize bringing your favorite pillow from home in a white pillow case and leaving it on the hotel bed for the others to grab was not such a smart idea. The other caring members of the crew, make notes to bring you a more colorful case next year. You will scrape the last few dollars and cents from your wallets to grab a few dishes of Hansel Bros. chicken and rice dinners to share because you are all flat broke. But broke never felt this good.01. You will share laughter, tears, shoes and purses. You will make some of the best memories of your life and those memories will forever feel magical. You'll realize there's no one better to take a bite out of the big apple with than your girls.
Last year, even though I was beyond excited, I was also a nervous wreck before the trip. I was so worried about leaving the boys for the first time, even though I knew they'd be in good hands. This year, I almost backed out for this same reason but then I realized DH would be there to help my dad out and I have to trust God to protect my babies. You know how it is when you're a mama... Plus, I've always wanted to go to NYC but am not a fan of big cities in general so I wasn't sure how much I would really even like it. But let me tell you, I dream about New York now! I absolutely love that city! But I realized by taking that break, how much I really needed it. My batteries were recharged, my mind rested a bit and I just relaxed. For the first time since becoming a mother, I had no responsibilities. That's a big deal when it's been just me and dh raising our kids for over nine years! That r&r helped me become a more efficient mother. We hear it all the time, you can't properly take care of your kids without taking care of yourself first but I never really believed that. Until this trip.
