Chapter 16 - Cheers to the M15!

Hmmm…well, I didn’t take a bus today – I’m sorry to disappoint.  Whatever shall I write about….my adventures going forward are going to be quite different, I can tell.   Forgive me if this post is longer than usual, I haven't written in a while : )  


First off, I’ll be partially working from home, which will make life so much easier, I can’t even tell you.   I’ll still go into the city, just not every day …more on that commute in a bit --

Before I begin writing about this next chapter of life, I’ll wrap up the last bit with a brief description of my last NYC morning bus commute with the kids (brief because it was blissfully uneventful) J  

Here it is (yes, I took pictures) -- this was the last M15 we took down 2nd ave for a morning commute:

At one point during the ride Lily was singing “I’m sexy and I know it” over and over, which did earn a few chuckles from those within ear shot…but, other than  that we kept to ourselves and no one bothered us.  

John Diego, my sweet sweet nugget, was feeling a little sentimental about the whole thing, I think.  This picture is from that last ride:

His sister did not share the sentimentality, she was downright blissful that our days on the M15 were over. I asked her to show me how she felt about taking the bus for the last time, and this is the picture I got:

The ride home that day was of usual annoyance – super crowded and no seats to be had…then about 2 stops into the ride a kid who looked about 12 or so got up for us (he ate no less than 6 starbursts during the ride, by the way, one after the other with his mouth wide open the whole time, kinda gross – but, thanks for the seat)  We hopped off that bus and walked home and that was that.   I asked Lily if she was going to miss the bus and she said, without hesitation or doubt, “Mama, I will NOT miss that bus” – Amen darling, simply put and I couldn’t agree more -

And while I'm adding some pictures to the mix...  I took this one earlier that same week when I caught Lily with the glazed over stare that I've seen on so many faces on the subway or bus.  When I saw Lily with that look, I knew it was time to get my city mouse off the bus and out to the country (or in this case...to the beach!)

So, we moved.  It would take hours to describe the sheer joy that our move brought to my life (read: sarcasm) – Honestly, it was long, exhausting and poorly done.  We’re now in our new house and surrounded by cardboard and bags and crates in various states of unpack.  Unpacking has been a bit challenging as Tony tends to pack in the most unorganized fashion possible (he did most of the packing for this last move, as I was usually on kid-wrangling duty).   It’s as if he took every box and packed one or two items from every room in our apartment, then went back to the first room and started over with a new box.  There isn’t a “kitchen” box with just kitchen stuff, for example.  There isn’t a “bathroom" box with just those items.   That’s what normal people do….but not us…  This morning I unpacked a box that had the following items:  Kitchen knives, a microphone (why do we have that??), a coffee can full of pens, a small Buddha candle holder,  some pot holders that my niece crocheted for Tony a few years ago, a baby-food maker (the  Beaba), a bunch of JD’s toys, an Army canteen, and a small stack of books, at the top of the which was a book titled “Tao of Jeet Kune Do”, by Bruce Lee.  

I have never seen this book on any shelf in any apartment we’ve lived in in the 9 years that Tony and I have lived together…no idea where it had been living up until this point.   Also, there are some of Lily’s toys in the bottom of almost every box.  A doll shoe or tiara or small plastic animal….something of hers made it’s way into every single box.   So, unpacking this mess has been delightful to say the least.

So, let’s see….since I like writing about my bus adventures….I did take a commuter bus into the city our first week here.  It was so completely different from the MTA bus I took up 2^nd avenue every morning.  Well, first…because I wasn’t with my kids  (I had just dropped them off at daycare) – so, that made it boring.  And 2nd, it was a bunch of folks commuting in from NJ, so a much longer ride and a totally different feel all together, and 3^rd  – the bus was super comfy and super clean.  While I was waiting for the bus I met an older woman named Margaret.  She was riding the bus a few stops down the road to go play BINGO at the VFW.  (wish I could have joined her…who doesn’t want to do that on a weekday morning???)  Margaret told me that she raised 9 kids in New York City, including 2 sets of twins.  She explained that they didn’t look alike, because there are two different kinds of twins : “fraternal and paternal”  ; )   So, who says there aren't characters at the bus stops in NJ.  Margaret was lovely and I really enjoyed chatting with her.

The ride itself…that was really different.  At one point I looked out the window and saw that we were driving through (not past but THROUGH…) an amusement park.    It was completely abandoned and had a creepy feel to it, like I was expecting Pennywise the Clown to pop up in the bus window and ask me if I want a balloon.  The whole thing had a slow, dreamy quality to it.  A little bit later, we got back on the highway and the creep factor went away.  Still not sure what that part of the bus ride was about since my husband took the same bus earlier that morning and it did not go to any amusement parks – perhaps I dreamt the entire thing, I don’t know – I have been a little delirious lately -

But, most days I drive the kids to daycare, then come back home and work.  Oh, and there is someone else who really loves my new home office...Lieutenant Dan couldn't be happier:

Working from home is just one thing on a growing list of WONDERFUL things about our move. (not that I won't miss the city....) BUT...here are some more….Yesterday while I was putting JD’s carseat into the car (which still takes me a minute….these everyday things are all new for us) Lily ran around on our front lawn and picked dandelions.  She thinks they are baby flowers that will grow into something bigger if we leave them alone, and since we don’t own a lawnmower yet….she might just get to test that theory.  One of the main reasons I wanted to move in the first place was so my kids could have a yard…watching her run around in the grass suddenly made  the nonsense of dealing with a short sale purchase SOOOO worth it ;)

On the ride home after their first day in their new daycare, Lily told me she has a new friend who asked her to put their sleeping bags next to each other for nap time (I was so happy I cried).  She couldn’t remember her new friend’s name on that first day, but called her “The Girl with the Kangaroo Shirt” (Stieg Larsson’s next novel, if he were still around to write it) -  and speaking of daycare, my son has already completely charmed every female in the building, old and young and in between (he’s also trying to nurse off every woman who holds him…..oh dear…)

The Easter Bunny was finally able to visit the kids in their own house and hide things in a THEIR yard.  What a great morning that was.  So, there have definitely been a lot of highlights….and here’s another one: -- my new Monday morning commute:

I mentioned the bus I tried our first week here.  The amusement park detour makes it a much longer (creepier) ride, and there was a stalled vehicle in the tunnel the day I came in, making me late for work and reminding me how much I hate coming through the tunnel.  So, I have decided that from now on, I shall be treating myself to the ferry.  It leaves from Atlantic Highlands and goes directly to midtown on the east side.  It's surreal to see a pier full of men in suits carrying briefcases walking single file to the boat.  (I'll have to post pics of that next week) -- There are women on the ferry too, but the ratio is like 4 to 1, so if there are any single folks out there looking for a nice guy from jersey who can afford to take the ferry, come stay over and commute in with me next week! ;)  Honestly, words cannot describe how much better this commute is in every way.  Well, I really don’t even have to describe it too much, do I?  I mean, I’m on a boat for heaven’s sake!   This view is ever so much different than the subway construction I'd pass every morning on 2nd avenue. 

The walk to get to the ferry isn't so bad either :)

It’s about a 20 minute walk from my house to the ferry, and then once I get into the city, a 10 minute walk from the ferry to my office.  It’s clean, calm, quiet and I might just get a tan on Monday mornings. The first time I took it I asked someone in front of me if they take cash, or do I need to buy my ticket in advance.  He said, “you need cash to get on, but they will take a credit card at the bar” – Okay??!!?!   Enough said. 

 My first thought was “The M15 bus really could have used a bar”.  Not that people didn’t drink on the bus (you remember Huggy Bear, the stone cold ladies man) but, of course that bus was BYOPB (bring your own paper bag)

Yes, the ferry costs more, but I’ve decided to allow myself this one luxury.  It’s only one day a week, and I never spend money on myself for anything.  I’m not a  hair and nails kinda girl, I spend zero dollars on stuff like that, I hate to shop, I seldom buy stuff for myself, so if my one treat is a Monday commute on a ferry….I dare say I’ve earned it.  I’m going to try to remind myself every Monday morning, as we’re drifting away from the dock, what it was like to ride with all those lunatics who pushed and shoved me to get onto the bus, who didn’t get up for me when I was 8 months pregnant and carrying a toddler in my arms, who gave me dirty looks if my babies cried too loud….. I will sit back and relax, listening to the sounds of the water splashing the ferry with the sun on my face and I will smile thinking about all of them….and on my commute home that night, I might just toast them with a drink from the ferry bar… J  Cheers to the M15!!