The Return of a Yankee

 Last year when we buried my grandmother in NY, that was my first return back to my birth place in about 12 years. Once my grandmother moved, I did not return, really not too sure why but it never happened. So we decided as a family we would return this summer and explore. We were grateful that some dear family friends gave us a place to lay our heads at night.

Considering the journey I have been on the past several months since my surgery, I was a bit apprehensive as time got closer. I wasn’t to sure what to expect, how I was going to feel, the memories that would flood my mind but I knew we were supposed to go.

On the other side of the coin, I wanted my girl to see that everyone has a different story. That everyone has a different beginning and all of those stories are written especially for them. As she comes into her own, this is going to be important for her.

The weather was fabulous. It was 80 degree but little humidity and a cool breeze. We were given tickets to a Yankee Game, and spent a day taking in the sites and sounds of the city. Hosanna had her first New York Hot Dog, saw a subway fight. We went to the Freedom Tower and soaked in all that happened on September 11^th.

An incredible weight standing there knowing what was once there.

We spent time playing at the beach in the Hamptons, (yes we can say we vacationed in the Hamptons). We climbed the steps of the light house that I saw so many times from the beach as a child and never went inside. All three of us made it the 192 steps up and down. The view was incredible.

We ate from bakeries, and the old time ice cream shop that has been open since I was small. We went to my cousins 5^th grade graduation and got to spend some time with them at the beach. We went to Sagamore Hill and saw the simpler way that one of our presidents used to do life.

The treasured folks who housed us, treated us like royalty continually asking how they could help and make our life easier. Lots of laughs and stories were shared.

We spent a day riding around the town showing Hosanna my elementary school and all the places that I had lived. My girl soaked it up and asked questions.

As we rode around memories flooded my heart. The bunny cage that was in the back yard of the first house I ever lived in, oh and the green kitchen. The yellow and orange twead couch along with the all wood kitchen set that we had in the apartment. Or the fort that we have built in the back woods after the hurricane hit. Even the year my mom was the cookie mom, and we used all the boxes in the living room to build a fort. And who could forget the hamster/fish/bird cemetery located just outside the porch door.

The last house before we moved to FL. The play house that my dad built was still standing. I could still see our dog running circles around the tree in the back and how the back yard connected to longtime friends.

My first house

The Apartments

The Brown House before we moved

And then this place. The last morning we were there, I ran out for bagels and took a small ride by myself down Pine Dr. The road my grandma used to live on. This green house was where she last resided in NY. The last time I was in it, it was bright blue, the chimney was white, there was no circular drive, and there were beautiful rose bushes outside. So many memories in that house were made. Many treasures I hold near and dear to my heart in there.

Breakfast the last morning we were there with our dear friends

Over the past several months as I discover a new life with my altered body, I have dug deep into the depth of my heart, healing far beyond the skin that anyone can see. I am not too sure why this journey at this time has been chosen for me. Only a select few have been privy to the digging which I have done. Healing has taken place, life has changed forever. Grieving has happened, letting go has come. And, I can tell a piece of that happened in Long Island as well. Some of those pesky lies, labels that have been put over my head and have hung for years, some of which began in some of these places were left there this summer. They may try to rear their ugly head on occasion, but I have the tools to battle them. We had so much fun this summer. A grand vacation, with lots more to explore in the North East…. So don’t worry, this yankee will be back.