An Excursion Around Town with a Loved One

Mom has become quite the homebody. I try to get her to walk around and get her steps in. She is resistant. Getting her to go to Walmart for Cooper cheese is another story. She is happy to go then. She orders the cheese sliced at the deli and pushes the cart as I fill it up. We get some chips at the checkout for the car ride home to go with the Diet Cokes we got from McDonald's on the way there.

Making trips or chores an occasion makes everything better. She is exhausted and says on the way home that she is the most tired she has ever been. Hopefully, she will sleep well tonight!

NYC for Christmas lights with mom

During the holidays with my brother in town, I decided I wanted us to go into New York City to see the Christmas lights and the tree at Rockefeller Plaza. We were concerned about Covid and traffic, not sure which we were most concerned about so we took the train in.

I used my phone to look up fun facts about the towns we passed by. Mom read out all the names as they showed up on the monitor on the train. I showed her on the map where we were, where we were going, and where we were coming from.

Arriving and getting around town

Once at Penn Station, I found mom, my brother, and me in an elevator to get up to the station from the tracks and an escalator up to the street. She's not good with stairs. The other three of our family walked up those stairs and up to Bryant park about 15 minutes away.

When traveling with people with different mobility and energy needs, you have to be willing to split up to keep everyone sane. We talked about the things we saw along the way once we reunited.

My son had ordered my mom a telescopic stool that we could use for trips that require a lot of walking. Amazon hadn't delivered it yet, so the three of us took a cab instead up to Bryant Park where we met up with the others and got dinner.

Sight-seeing and holiday lights

It was lovely. We could see the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building. We watched the ice skaters for a while. It was magical if a little crowded.

We could see Radio City Music Hall down the street, which was close to our next destination, Rockefeller Plaza. It didn't look far, so we walked. The others had gone ahead. Every few steps, mom asked where my brother was. He's right behind us mom. He's also 60 years old. He's fine. Mom was beginning to turn red. I really wished I had waited for that stool!

We made it to Sax Fifth Avenue and saw the magnificent light display. Mom had caught her breath by then. She enjoyed it. Then we and hundreds of other people saw the giant tree! It was magnificent!

We watched the skaters there and took a few pictures before we were tired of the crowd, which didn't take long. We caught the next cab we could back to Penn Station and the next train home.

Making memories

Whew! What a whirlwind! Mom chatted the whole way home on the train! She asked questions, and I explained everything I could. It was like when I used to take my little kids into the city. We would look at books and talk about what we would see. They had so many questions, and I would patiently entertain them. She was like a kid.

It was exhausting, but she loved it. We were all tired but so glad we made the effort and spent the money and energy. I'm glad I wasn't afraid to try.

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