KristyWes

On the Twenty-Eighth Day of December

Daily Photo: This classy decor has been hanging
outside my window since October 30th

I'm back in Brooklyn now, staring out the window at these tinsel-y lights. It was good to go home, and it was good to come back. As my bus approached Manhattan this evening, and as I caught that first glimpse of the Empire State Building, glowing red-and-green and blue-and-white for the holidays, I was reminded of something I read recently. In his family memoir, Sweet and Low, Rich Cohen writes about leaving the city:

"Whenever I see Manhattan going away, I say, Thank God I got out of that alive! Whenever I return, I say, Thank God they let me back in."

I can relate. Each time I journey away from this island, I feel a sense of relief. Ok, now I can breathe. Now I can get some perspective. And each time I return, I find myself eager to catch that first glimpse of skyline, relieved to be getting back to it, wondering how I could have wanted to get away from it in the first place.