Can't Sleep

I'm very annoyed with myself right now. It's 2:12 a.m. and I just finished nursing Charlotte and I can't go back to sleep. The same thing happened last night. I was up from 2:00 to 5:00 tossing and turning and thinking - thinking about our imminent move to San Antonio and looking back on the last 7 years of my life in New York. I came to New York mainly because I wanted an adventure, and I got it. I came here knowing no one, now I have many friends who are dear to me. I've made so many wonderful memories and New York will always be special to me. So, I might as well write out some of the highlights since I can't sleep anyway.

1.) Meeting Eric, getting married at our church, and giving birth to our beautiful daughter. I can't seem to separate them all because one lead to the other, and I can't imagine my life without Eric and Charlotte.

2.) The Manhattan Church of Christ and all of the amazing people I've met and come to love.

3.) My first apartment in the East Village. At first I thought the neighborhood was kind of sketchy, but now I recognize it for what it was - cool, edgy, and trendy. I paid $1,000 in 1999 to share an apartment. That was 3/4 of my salary as a teacher.

4.) My choir at Rice High School in Harlem. It was an all boys high school, and while things got off to a rocky start, I loved those kids and we ended up having a great time together. The highlight was taking them to Hershey Park and performing in a competition and receiving top scores. They were so proud of themselves, and so was I.

5.) Returning to Rice to visit the kids after I left to do a theatre tour. It was their Christmas Mass, and word got to me that the kids wanted me to sing. Alton Fitzgerald White, who was playing Colehouse Walker in Ragtime on Broadway, was their guest performer. He is an amazing singer, but the students still wanted me to sing. Alton was very generous and allowed me to do an impromptu performance of "The Lord's Prayer", to which I received a standing ovation. Then, Alton and I led Christmas carols while everyone joined in.

6.) Driving in a U-Haul with Merle through Harlem when all of a sudden a rough looking group of teens stormed the vehicle to say hi to me. Turns out, they were my former students. Merle was a little frightened at first.

7.) My roommates - Dawne, Jared, and Beverly. We had so many great times together.

8.) Tex-Mex food prepared by Chinese people. Who knew they could do such a great job? Sometimes the restaurant was Tex-Mex and Chinese, so you could take your pick.

9.) Broadway shows. I'll miss knowing that I can see a show at a moments notice.

10.) Paul McCartney. I saw him twice with Eric at Madison Square Garden and he was amazing. I also saw him at a small Catholic Church where he read a poem for a classical concert. That was the closest I ever got to him. I (along with almost every other female in the building) walked out into the aisle and slowly started walking towards him. It was like being drawn to a magnet. I'm sure Paul was getting a little nervous because he made a quick exit after his reading.

I'm sure there will be a part two to this post, but I'm actually getting a bit sleepy. I hope sleeps comes because I know I could use it.