on traditions.

i wasn't kidding last thanksgiving when i said i hoped my family would join me in nyc this 

year. new to new york, i meandered my way through the day and quickly found that there

is something so magical about a holiday in the city. i hoped hard all year long that my family

might be here to feel it, too.

they did come, and it was really wonderful to see how my own little traditions, some born of ones i miss so much from childhood and others i'm starting from scratch, are starting to unfold. we stopped for coffee on the way to the parade and watched it from the same sleepy street on the west side where i stood last year. we had dinner out, something we've never done, but that's the thing about traditions, isn't it? initiating them, growing them, tailoring them to wherever you happen to be. 

funny how one of the hardest parts of growing up and moving away gives way to one of the

most satisfying parts of building a life, a home, and traditions of my very own.