It’s like a scene from ‘Sex and the City’… no really. I struggled with perinatal and post-partum depression during and after giving birth to my twins, so I haven’t quite felt beautiful in a long time until New York City.
I have never been to the northeast so, I thought “why not”! I booked a nonstop flight and stayed in the heart of NYC, in Midtown for five days. Little did I know that this trip would change my life. NYC: magical, breathtaking, sexy, busy, chaotic, friendly, overwhelming… all the above.
Every woman needs to visit NYC at least once in her life, but a mom MUST see it. Sure, I can laugh and cry anywhere, but I was able to do all of that in a city I fell in love with back in October 2021.
When you live care-free in a brand-new city, it changes you.
Being from Louisiana and only have ever lived here, I was overwhelmed when I first got off the train at Penn Station. I fly into Newark then made my way into NYC.
I felt every emotion while there, I jammed my schedule and forced myself to stay out late/sleep in.
I always started my day with Dunkin’ Donuts (mamas, hands down – 100% better than Starbucks), walked everywhere I went, tried a new restaurant (a new type of food) for every meal, ran Central Park, listened to live music, watched the Yankees play in Yankee Stadium, watched the Saints play the NY Jets among a Jets-fan base in an NYC bar (they were the coolest about it), attended a Lion King Broadway show, visited the MET, cried while walking the World Trade Center Memorial Museum, dressed up in the evenings to whisk the night away and so much more.
I’ll admit, I hated Times Square. It’s overly crowded and sketchy. I did however fall in love with Midtown, the Financial District, Rockefeller Center, Upper West Side, and other parts of Manhattan.
Visiting Manhattan after becoming a mom made me feel alive again and as if “mama still has it”. I also struggle with anxiety and was afraid when visiting a city like this that I would have extreme panic attacks. I never felt better, honestly.
NYC changes a mom to remember herself. I was a woman before I became a mom.
