Hello New York!

Hello, New York! 

Hello, chilly wind, dirty streets, gray skies.

Hello, one-bedroom apartment shared with my brother, sans cleaning lady. Plus mom visiting. 

Hello, gazillions of people on the streets! New yorkers, with your headphones and jaded looks, dark clothes and sunglasses. Tourists, with your giant subway maps that you will never understand and weird footwear.

Hello, 20-year-old boys with beards, 40-year-old women with purple hair. 

Hello, flats, dark clothes, cotton fabrics, scarves, and practical bags. 

Hello, whole foods and trader joe's. Organic everything. Fresh always. Turkey sausage, egg whites, and organic cheese on a bun. Bad coffee, brown sugar, almond milk. 

Hello, sky-scrapers, cabs, subways, cnn, osama dead?, no one cares, liberalism, and skepticism. 

Hello, unopened mail, dust, laundry, cable, food network, purple shower curtain, red table cloth, pink apron, and window-less teeny tiny love-of-my-life kitchen. 

Hello, heart, memories, love, pain, loss, saudades, and grief. 

Hello, change, growth, healing, recovery, picking up the pieces, and possibilities.  

Hello, everything is the same and everything is different. 

Hello, me that was and me that changed.

Hello, my city, my apartment, my hopes, my wants, my dreams, my past, my future, my right now, my loves, my always, my here, my constant, my changes, my roots, my branches, my life, my life, my life.

Hello, my beautiful, ever-changing, always here, lively, passionate, crazy, lovely New York. 

Hello, hello, hello! 

It's a gift to be back in your arms.