Home to New York

 The ten year anniversary of 9/11 has had me very reflective on the last decade of my life. I left my hometown of West Babylon, NY in 2001 to go to college at Holy Cross and it has been one adventure ever since, exploring every corner of the country and globe since then.

2001-2005- Worcester, MA & St. Petersburg, Russia

2005- 2006- Bashkortostan, Russia (Emmet- Denver, CO)

2006-2007- Palo Alto, California

2007-2009- Boston, MA

2009-2011- Miami, Fl & Dominica, West Indies

I had always dreamed of going out and seeing the world, and doing that with Emmet was better than I could have imagined. But in the past two years, I started to feel the urge to settle down, and I wondered if living in the Northeast would ever be in the cards for us. I started to feel an intense desire when we got pregnant for "home" and not "home away from home."

As I sat in tears this morning watching the opening of the September 11th Memorial, listening to the names being read aloud one by one, I felt choked up and homesick like never before. I thought of my Dad, my hero, standing at attention, mourning the loss of all his friends in the FDNY. I thought about how fortunate I am that by mere chance, by the grace of God, everyone is my own family is still alive despite the attacks that came so close to us.

Photograph of my Dad (center without hat) at the Fireman's monument in Riverside Park taken 9.11.11 (Wall Street Journal)




I thought about my daughter, weeks away from coming into this world, and how much I want all of our relatives and friends to be a part of her everyday life. And I found it incredible and hard to believe that Emmet's medical school program is taking us right to the heart of New York City for his next two years of rotations, as if we were destined to finally be there. 

 After all the trips I have been on since 2001, nothing will make me happier than to board that New York bound plane in November, landing me with my husband and baby girl in the Big Apple where we belong. I look at the Memorial Grounds and I'm overwhelmed. I think about tragedy and grief and all the lives lost. I think about the pain that so many have endured. But most of all, I look at those new buildings and I am in awe. I think about hope and resiliency and perseverance. I think about love and honor and redemption. And I think there is no better city to show our daughter to demonstrate the power of good over evil. I have always been proud of New York, but now, more than ever, I am grateful to call it my home.