the view from the top

s and i celebrated our five-year anniversary on thursday with dinner out at mexican radio and a surprise trip to the empire state building. the esb has been on the us map for awhile now, but tickets are a little expensive, and we'd heard horror stories about the lines, so we'd skipped it in favor of other excursions. i am so, so happy we finally went! (although i highly recommend going on a weeknight in the winter--we practically ran through the building. i cannot imagine waiting in room after room of lines.)

it was cold and windy and eerily quiet and totally beautiful. (ok, full disclosure: it was freezing cold. but getting the 86th floor almost completely to ourselves? totally worth it.) the view was incredible. i took great delight in pointing out landmarks we're used to seeing from ground level: theatres we've visited, the washington square park arch, the bridge we've walked across. it was also strangely silent--we were too high up to hear street noise, not even honking horns, which is unheard of (ha!) in new york.

i felt like i got a new perspective on new york from so high up. the city at once feels enormous and tiny. from the sidewalk, 10 blocks can feel far and neighborhoods are defined by individual blocks. from up in the air, the city is distilled into heights and lights. at one point, i turned to s and exclaimed "this is our city!"

as i explained to a friend the other day, i often have moments where i am thrilled that this is my life. i spent much of my youth wanting to live in new york. when it didn't work out the first time, i was disappointed, but i knew that i wanted to try again when i had the time and energy to make this place my own. moving here as an adult, i've been able to really create a space here (between career, friendships, apartment, and fabulous relationship) that has helped me fall in love with this city for real--not a film new york or a fiction new york but a true new york. and seeing it all from the top of the empire state building helped put it all into perspective.