Sisterhood46

First I had to learn how to take care of a house. Now I'm slowly learning how to take care of my garden. The best part is learning from my neighbors who actually know what they're doing and discovering hidden treasures. This morning, thanks to my friend Esther,  I discovered that I have peonies growing in my garden. Instead of going to the corner bodego for a bouquet,  I went to my garden early this morning, in my pjs, and made my own. Every time I walk past it, I smile.

Driving = Suburbs Suburbs = Driving It's a simple enough premise but it's not until you actually move to the suburbs that you appreciate the implications. Driving in the burbs means three things: #1 You are risking your life every time you get in that car. I'm absolutely baffled, on a daily basis, that I or my kids have not been killed by a fellow driver. It's like they're doing everything, (talking on the phone, curling their eyelashes, yelling at their kids, putting on eye shadow, reaching back into their trunk, driving in the middle of the road) instead of actually looking at the road with a bare minimum of one hand on the wheel. #2 You will spend a majority ie 75% of your life in the car. That's a huge huge consideration if you're moving from the city. Really, close your eyes and picture yourself, driving your kids to school, driving the homework they forgot to school 15 minutes later, driving to the gym, driving to the grocery store, driving to m

Yesterday my next door neighbor was working in her garden when a stranger walked onto her property and persistently called out to her: "Hey lady! Hey lady!" She did her best to ignore him, sensing that it was not in her best interest to engage in conversation. The guy just kept calling out to her more loudly. Finally she said "Thanks but I'm not interested." His reaction was to become verbally aggressive. "What do you mean you're not interested, you don't even know what I'm going to say. I just want you to help me get a better life and buy a few subscriptions. Must be nice to live in a neighborhood like this one." He huffed and puffed until he'd gotten everything off his chest and proceeded to the house next door. Then to the next house, then the next one, until a seasoned suburbanite called the local police. Needless to say my neighbor was left a little shaken. There she was, alone, without her phone with an angry stranger who seem

When I lived in the city, one of my favorite places was the Union Square Farmer's market. In the midst of concrete and pollution,  it's an island of fresh homegrown, natural yummy stuff. I always walked away with no money left in my wallet but carrying beautiful lilac bouquets, fresh goat cheeses and fresh organic veggies. My new favorite Farmer's market is my garden in Westport. Instead of paying $10 for a small bouquet of lilac I now just walk to the back of my house and cut a couple of branches whenever I feel like it. Instead of paying a silly amount for organic lettuce, I ask my 6 year old to go to our vegetable garden to cut a few leaves for dinner.  Tomatoes, broccoli, radishes, raspberries, strawberries and melons are on there way....I can't wait! I have to say this is probably my favorite part about living in the burbs.

I honestly don't know if I would have survived my relocation to the burbs if it wasn't for the web. Facebook made my group of friends completely mobile. Linkedin helped me launch my coaching business. And blogs from other city moms keep me in touch with motherhood in the city. Currently my favorite is Goop, Gwenyth Paltrow's blog http://www.goop.com . She's as down-to-earth as she can be and she's quite generous with her rolodex. Today's newsletter included a work out by Tracy Anderson. Thanks to GP, I did a true downtown mama workout right in my suburbian living room.  http://action.tracyandersonmethod.com/page/s/ironman2?utm_source=Goop+Newsletter&utm_campaign=60f9fc1bdd-Goop82_05_06_2010&utm_medium=email

The food options in the burbs are limited. There are mostly chain options which no self respecting New Yorker would venture in and a few independent restaurants that very rarely reach the bar set by New York Restaurants. I so vividly remember asking people for restaurant recommendations when we first moved here and I was met with an uncomfortable silence. Of course there are a dozen italian restaurants and couple of "Asian" restaurants that serve sushi, chinese and thai food all under one roof! Honestly the best option, and anyone thinking of moving to the burbs needs to know this and truly embrace it, is to become a great cook. Seriously, you will be responsible for the majority of the meals you family eats and trust me when I tell you that the week will not be peppered with a couple of yummy restaurant meals to make your family forget your mediocre offerings. It's all up to you! Of course at first I fought this because it just added to the 1950's stereotype I foun