The Boxer

I remember watching this concert with my father when I was a little girl.  No, I wasn't there at the Central Park Concert back in 1981!  My father taped it on the VCR when it was replayed probably on a station like PBS, lol.  I was mesmerized by Art Garfunkel (and not in a good way, lol) at first and even remember his little mistake made in this song, but then I listened to the music and thus began my love for Simon and Garfunkel.  But that's not what this post is really about...

Today was my first day of summer vacation (woo hoo!).  Because my sitter has been out of town and I won't have her again until mid-July! I took my son to school today so I could have a carefree day to relax by myself and I knew exactly where I was going!  Pier 25 in Manhattan... I went there just this Sunday with my son and played miniature golf, he ran around on a mini soccer field, and then through the sprinklers at a cool playground, all on this pier!  What I noticed was at the end of this pier, there were trees and lounge chairs that overlooked the Hudson River and it looked perfect.  So this morning I put on a cute summer dress (this is Tribeca!  Lots of suits and cute guys... you never know, lol), packed a couple magazines, and my earphones and was off!

Look back towards Manhattan... This is the Freedom Tower!

As I was lounging, listening to music, and looking across the river from Statue of Liberty to New Jersey I was thinking to myself how content I really was at that moment.  I thought about how my rent could afford me a mini mansion in my hometown.  I thought about how instead my tiny apartment has no laundry, no yard, and an occasional water roach and yes, even mouse (ugh, I know).  It takes me 40 minutes to travel 5 miles, I just spent $30 on a brunch today consisting of bacon, toast, and a yummy peach rum drink, and sometimes this place is just plain loud, dirty, and rude.  But there is no other place that I want to be right now.  It is so much more than all of the above.  And most importantly, I am exactly where I am supposed to be right now.

So as I was listening to my playlist which I courageously set to shuffle and told myself I would not change the song that came on, "The Boxer" began to play.  And for the first time I listened to the words, like really listened and they spoke to me.  I understood.

In my own right I had to fight to make staying and living in NYC work.  My initial thought was that I would move back to my hometown after my husband passed.  But almost as quickly as that thought came, the thought that I didn't want to followed.  I didn't want to, so I didn't.   And I had to build a life here, pretty much from the bottom because I didn't have a whole heck of a lot except for a job and a home that I could still afford to live in. I didn't have anyone telling me that I couldn't do this, that I couldn't make it here on my own.  I had tons of support and that has made a world of difference.  I needed it for sure and sometimes I do wonder how I could feel so right here when essentially this is the place where everything went all wrong.  But in actuality, I know it is not NYC that caused any of the sadness that has occurred in my life to take place.  Instead, I actually feel as if NYC embraced me.  It has turned out to be as much as a support system as my family and friends.  Crazy, huh? 

So as I sat at the end of Pier 25 and listened to "The Boxer" I couldn't help but to think that because I truly feel as if I am exactly where I am supposed to be that everything else will fall into place here... eventually and when it is meant to, for I didn't always believe that this was the place for me either. 

And since this is Throwback Thursday #2... you can check out Home which was posted in March of 2012.  I have come a long way since then.  :)