It's the end of the world... again

Growing up in a religious home, I've been hearing about the end of the world since I was a little girl. In my early 20's, I met this guy who wanted to get married but not have kids because the world would end soon and he didn't want his kids to go through the ordeal and mayhem that would come about - really?! Plus, I remember him scaring the heck out of me saying that I did not want to be pregnant during the end of the world. Are you kidding me??? Picture me running (not fast enough as it turned out, but still... it could have been worst!)

Well, it seems we dodged another highly hipped doom's day. My kids, just a couple of weeks shy of being 11 years old, got a bit concerned about the whole deal. Friday night, presumably the day before the "end of the world", I tried to ease their fears by reminding them that the Bible says no man knows the day or the hour of the second coming of Jesus Christ, or the rapture (when the 144,000 chosen ones are taken to heaven) and the subsequent end of the world. Therefore, the minute someone or some group of zealots start naming a date, you can rest assured it's not happening (maybe the day after, but certainly not that day - but I did leave that footnote out of the conversation to avoid panic). My boy, ever the problem solver - there's a reason we call him little McGiver - lights up and says that all we have to do then, is to remember to say it's the end of the world every day so that it does not happen. It's a theory.

My little girl, however, was a little harder to pacify. She seemed to understand the point at the time, but the next day showed signs of growing concern. Saturday morning, "D" day, I had to go teach a Jazzercise class, while hubby took our boy to Opening Day of baseball season. She had to go with them, and I was to meet them there immediately after my class. Since baby girl does not play, she always brings her Nintendo DS and/or a book to read while we are at games. When I get there, I look down at her lap and notice her Nintendo and a book. I know immediately what book it is, but I have to ask anyway, so I say "What did you bring to read today?" It's her Bible, and she just looks up at me and smiles, to which I say "I see you're trying to get on God's good side anyway, huh?! Gotta give you points for thinking ahead!"

Well, we're all still here. Thank you God for another beautiful day!

Spring Break!

I lived in Washington DC for a while (a long time ago, you know, during the previous administration :-() so whenever anyone would come visit, since I was only a 5 hour drive from New York, I would invariably take my guests there. Let's face it, it's an awesome city, with so much to see, so many famous sites to visit, you just can't help it. But the last time I was there, the Twin Towers were still up - yeah, it had been a while.

So for Spring Break, after considering a few options, we took the family to NYC. We did the usual, Times Square, a Broadway play (How to Succeed in Business Without Trying), Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Central Park, a couple of museums, the mandatory visit (or two) to FAO Schwarz (it's mandatory when you a couple of 10 year olds with you), Rockfeller Center, Little Italy (best gnocchi I've had in ages) etc. Which brings me to all the fantastic meals you have to have because, sadly, you can't cook when you're on vacation -- this vacation anyway.

Oh yes, speaking of that, I had to go to 46th Street twice to visit two different Brazilian Restaurants. I saw a sign on the corner that actually said "Little Brazil" so I think it's growing... Pao de queijo (cheese bread), picanha (prime roast) and caipirinha (the Brazilian National drink). It was very great. At the first one, Via Brasil, I told my family that the minute I walked through those doors I would only speak Portuguese, so they were on their own. Everyone thought it was fun, except for my boy, who by the end of the night was somewhat upset. But, I'm hoping they'll remember the value of being able to speak another language and be more motivated to learn it in the future. I have to say it was a somewhat one sided conversation for a while, till my resourceful husband (who was actually doing really well as a translator for the kids) had enough and pulled out his Blackberry, and got into the Babelfish website (a translation site). Still we had fun.

Now, in the "only in NY" category, at an Irish restaurant, while waiting for our dessert, my boy and I were playing goal post with a coin. Every now and then the coin would fly off the table, we'd pick it up and keep going. After a while, it flew off and landed at this lady's feet a couple of tables over. Before my boy had a chance to walk over, she simply picked up the coin, put it in her purse and never once looked over at us or anybody else for that matter. I guess recession must have hit her a little harder than most!

All in all, a great vacation. We'll have to go back!!!