Soul Sisters

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This one photo encapsulates the pure joy of our entire girls’ day trip to NYC.

I met Christie and Betsy at the Kingston train station early in the morning to catch the train into the city. I marveled at the fact that, at the ripe old age of 61, I had never taken the train from Kingston to anywhere! I’ve always opted to drive, but I now realize just how much I’ve been missing. The train really is the only way to go. We sat back, relaxed, and chatted without a care in the world, and before we knew it, we were dropped off right in the middle of New York City. Amazing.

We walked to a bagel shop where we met up with Betsy’s son and enjoyed our city breakfast before heading out to explore. We walked the streets, shopped, checked out the sights, listened to music in Bryant Park, took in the views from the Renaissance Hotel, and watched the endless street vendors who all seemed ready to pack up and run at the first sight of a police officer. There was the unmistakable smell of marijuana in the air more often than not, and more sights, sounds, and activity then our eyes could possibly take in. We tried our best to absorb it all.

By mid-afternoon, we made our way to the Hirschfeld Theatre to see Moulin Rouge! Each of us was practically bursting with excitement for what we knew would be a spectacular show, and holy cow, was it ever!

From the sets and costumes to the choreography and singing, we were completely blown away. For my friends out there who think they don’t like Moulin Rouge…you truly don’t know what you’re missing! The entire audience erupted when lead actor Aaron Tveit, a Tony Award-winning actor, took the stage and completely embodied the character of Christian. Kelsie Watts portrayed Satine beautifully, and every single cast member seemed perfectly suited to their role. It was Broadway at its best.

Of course, I have to have my theatre gripes. That darn theatre etiquette book I’ve been threatening to write for years is needed more than ever these days! From men and women wearing hats throughout the show to heavy perfume and endless chatter, there is apparently a whole new chapter waiting to be written.

And now, I need to add a chapter about food.

The woman sitting next to me ate throughout the entire show as if it were the only meal she would have for the year! She arrived with food, bags of pretzels, candy, and nuts, crumpling bag after bag as she devoured it all at a rapid rate while drinking champagne and dancing in her seat so forcefully that she shook our entire row. I figured surely she would have had her fill by the second half.

Nope.

She returned from intermission with a giant bin of popcorn and proceeded to eat it throughout the entire second half as if she had been rescued from starvation.

But enough about that.  Even her enthusiastic chomping couldn’t put a dent in my enjoyment of the show!

Afterward, we headed out for a bite to eat and settled on the Starlight Diner, a classic diner that looked like it had been transported straight out of the 1950s. It was exactly what we needed, a little tranquility after all the stimulation of the city and the show.

Betsy’s son met up with us again, and together we headed back toward the train station just as the rain began to drizzle. Perfect timing.

Once inside the station, I marveled at the enormity of it all. It felt like an entire city of its own, tucked inside the city. Betsy grabbed her matcha, while Christie and I grabbed chocolate chip cookies, and we asked Betsy’s son to take just a few more pictures of us. Each time, he would snap exactly one picture, which became a joke all its own. 

We grabbed the 7:00 train home, settled into the dining car, found a table, and felt as if we had won the lottery with our seats.

And as I thought back over the day, I realized I don’t think there was a three-minute stretch that wasn’t filled with girl talk, laughter, stories, and pure joy. No schedules to worry about, no responsibilities calling our names, just three friends enjoying a day all to ourselves.

This photo may capture one moment of that happiness, but the truth is, the entire day felt exactly like this.

Some days don’t just make you happy…they take you right off your feet with happiness. Love my soul sisters! 

“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.” — Moulin Rouge!