Fairy Tale of New York

When I was a little girl, my aunt and I used to spend weekends going into New York City between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Sometimes my grandmother would come too, other times my mom would as well. My aunt was my godmother and we had a very special relationship that endured until she died of cervical cancer when I was 19.


She loved to ice skate and we would go every year to the rink at Rockerfeller Center. I love to skate myself, but was never good enough to do the jumps and spins my aunt was capable of. It was so magical, skating around the rink with the huge Christmas tree right above you.

We also would go to FAO Schwartz, which in my opinion, is the greatest toy store in the world. I would be allowed to pick at least one thing out (how cruel was that? The options were endless!).

Every year I got to go to the Nutcracker at the New York City Ballet. I was fortunate when I was a child to see Barishnikov and Ivan Nagy play the prince. To this day, Ballachine’s adaptation is my favorite.

We also would go see the Christmas Show at Radio City Music Hall.

We also would go see the tree at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In fact, the tree was so beloved that my aunt collected the angel ornaments that were hung on the Met’s tree for our tree at home. Even today, my heart skips a beat when I see pictures, and

Most of all, I loved spending time with my aunt. When I was a little girl, I thought she was the most elegant woman ever, and when I was with her I thought I was with a movie star or royalty. She was like a blonde Jackie O. We always went on such great adventures, and our exploits were legendary. As an adult, and a mom, I only hope that Little Man may have such memories and thoughts of me when he’s my age.