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So our trip to NYC last weekend, other than making idiots of ourselves as I mentioned in my last post, was nothing short of amazing. We have been so beyond busy the last few months that time having Andy all to myself was awesome. We flew first class, ate great food, had the greatest hotel room, saw Blue Man Group (sat second row), did some shopping and enjoyed the life of The City That Never Sleeps. It was fantastic. But overall, my most favorite part of the trip has now become my most favorite afternoon that I have ever spent with my husband.
If you know Andy and I then it's no secret that our lives are very, very full of many, many things. Andy decided a long time ago that he would maximize each and every opportunity thrown his way to make any impact he can on anyone that he can get his hands on. Marrying him, well this sort of became my lot in life as well but that was no surprise to me. If God has ever made anything crystal clear to me it was the day that He told me that my purpose in life was to bring Him glory and the way He was going to have me do that for the rest of my life was be sold out and dedicated to supporting and loving Andy Tilly and raising any crazy little ones that we may have to follow in their Daddy's foot steps...headed to change the world around them. Even though I had no idea what the future would hold for me, make no mistake about it...I knew that this would not be a normal life with it's challenges and sacrifices, nor would it be one that too many people get to have with it's blessings and experiences. All of this is to say, time...real time with my husband is priceless to me. In fact, I don't even know if priceless can even begin to describe how much I truly treasure any moments I can get where he is just all mine. No emails, no text messages, no talk about the latest book idea or project, no proof-reading our latest book to publish. Just me and Andy taking a walk.
It was after our incident in Central Park when we decided to head to Chelsea Market. I had been super excited to see this place being that above the market is the home of Food Network Studios. So the market was a bit of a disappointment and after I moped all the way through brunch Andy had the idea that we would see where we were on our $7.95 map of NYC (a whole different story) to see how far we would actually have to walk to get back to our hotel in lower Manhattan. It looked a good 3 miles away, but we decided to just walk until we got tired and then we would get a cab. Andy wanted to head to the harbor and then walk south from there. I agreed. As we walked through Greenwich Village it started to cloud up and get a little drizzly. Once we got to the harbor of the Hudson River we turned to the left and just started walking. We talked off and on about things not of any particular significance, which is quite rare for Andy to do. We laughed at some old stories that we hadn’t thought about in a long time. We enjoyed seeing this part of the city, out of the trendy tourist spots…this was just people living everyday life in Manhattan. The air was cool and full of a mix of smells from the stink of the city to the saltiness of the harbor. We came across the most interesting enclosed/outdoor sports complex full of little ones playing soccer at one end and stopped to watch a little league game at the other end. It was a truly amazing thing to stumble upon, you never would have even known it was there.
As we walked and laughed, I hung on Andy’s every word. It was just Em and Andy, in no hurry and with no point in what we were doing at all, and I was going to soak up every single second of it because this was the exact opposite of how our life together has played out so far. Lot’s of people get their time with my amazing husband, this was my turn. Next thing we knew, we had made it the entire way back to the hotel…it had to be at least 3 miles. But as we approached the entrance, even though it was starting to lightly rain again…we kept walking. We rounded the corner and headed to get a slice of authentic New York City pizza, one of my favorite things. Sitting in the drizzle on the steps of some corporate building we finished our pizza and I realized that our afternoon full of things of no particular importance was coming to an end. I looked to my husband, who bless his heart works harder than anyone that I know and thought to myself “Remember this day Emily, when you are frustrated that Andy walks around like a zombie after a 14 hour day. Remember the time he took just for you today when you want to get mad that he has to start a project in the middle of the night because he just can’t stop his wheels from spinning. Don’t forget about this afternoon when you have to go back home and share him with the world again.”
I know it may seem like nothing to most people, but this afternoon with Andy will be with me forever. It was just me and Andy, taking a walk. I had him all to myself and it was fantastic.
Location: Manhattan, NY- Central Park South Entrance
Time: 8:30 AM EST
Goal: Take a relaxing and romantic Sunday morning stroll through Central Park.
What We Expected to See: Runners, Joggers, Kids with parents, Women with strollers and a few random New Yorkers who would also be out to take a relaxing and romantic Sunday morning stroll through Central Park.
The series of events:
8:30 AM EST: Entered the park and soon found ourselves surrounded by a sea of people rushing towards the top road of the park. Odd? No but not what we expected.
8:35 AM EST: Found the path less traveled and headed deeper into the park.
8:40-8:55 AM EST: Took a relaxing and romantic Sunday morning stroll in Central Park.
9:00 AM EST: Alerted by the booming sound of voices and cheering over a loud PA system a few minutes from us.
9:01 AM EST: Andy had to check it out...maybe it was a church service??
9:10 AM EST: The crowd around us began to change. Hundreds of people were now in view. Lots of guys holding hands with guys, girls doing the same as well. People in matching shirts. Signs every now and then.
Thoughts for the moment: "Hmmm, this is a little odd. I am pretty sure this isn't going to be a church service. But hey, it's Manhattan so it's not like this is too far out there for Manhattan right? I mean, none of this is too strange, like crazy strange. Let's keep going and see what's happening here."
9:25 AM EST: Bruce Villanche (from Hollywood Squares) and Hal Sparks (from various TV shows such as I Love the 80's) take the stage.
The Opening Line: "Let's just take a minute to celebrate what has gone on recently with the advancements in the rights of Gay Marriage people!!!! Let's also take a minute to be sad for those who settled for members of the opposite sex and hate it."
Thoughts for the moment: "Ok, well...this might get a little awkward...but ok that's a big issue throughout America for some people so I get it. I mean once again this is NYC right?"
9:35 AM EST: For the first time we actually begin to survey the area around us.
9:37 AM EST: A bright green sign reading "Condoms Save Lives." Not too strange for me, I get that.
9:38 AM EST: A tall man (or woman) dressed in an outfit that resembled a large banana suit, which I later realized was indeed not a banana suit at all. Ok, this is getting a little odd.
9:40 AM EST: A bald man, wearing the slip of a wedding gown, with nipples drawn on his sleeveless t-shirt, sporting a pink stick-on beard on his chin, pushing a gold spray painted grocery cart loaded with trash bags and a small chihuahua who was dressed in a dog-sized clown outfit, all while keeping a parakeet perfectly balanced on the man's head. Side Note: Andy seemed to think that the clown-suited dog was the only thing odd about this guy as he passed us...which I found kind of humorous and a little scary at the same time. Ok, this was getting weird.
9:45 AM EST: A glance past the same sex couples, the cross-dressing man with the bird on his head and the huge gospel choir (yep, they were there too) revealed literally thousands of people gathered in groups at the back of the clearing. When I say thousands, I mean thousands.
The realization of the morning begins to come from the stage:
"Welcome to all of you who have joined us today. (Crowd of thousands goes wild.) Thank you so much for being here to participate. This is one of the largest events in Manhattan and YOU are all a part of it."
Me: Ok, participate...Ummm Andy I think it's time to go.
Andy: Yes babe, let's get out of here before we get run over. I think we are standing on the starting line for whatever this is. Huh, isn't that odd?
9:50 AM EST: We head to exit the park. Happy for those who were walking for a good cause however I was feeling quite out of my element. That's just the truth of it folks.
10:00 AM EST: We find ourselves being cheered for and clapped at as we are mistaken for 2 dedicated Walkers being that we chose to take the path out out of the park that was the actual route for the Walk. (In retrospect I think we need to pay more attention...I get that now.)
10:10 AM EST: Cheers in our direction turn to scowls and "you know where you can go buddy" looks as we actually, it needs to be admitted, wiggle past the barricade set to keep the route in place for the Walk and truck it out of the park.
10:15 AM EST: We noticed, for the first time signs up and down the streets of the city,
Sunday, May 18th 2008
Central Park, Manhattan
New York City Aids Walk
In one light: Andy and I were a part of one of the largest events in Manhattan and did something to make a statement for a good cause. We were a part of history!
In another: We were 2 people from the Bible Belt who even though believed in the cause, were admittedly out of our element and I had never been so nervous of getting slapped in the face by a man dressed from head to toe in the latest styles from the Gap.
