Resident Tourist: Winter Outings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

I’ve been spending a lot of time exploring pros and cons to living in New York City lately. I’m really not going to miss the weather, but I will long for the feeling in the air when the seasons change. I won’t miss pushing a stroller in sleet, snow and rain but I will fondly remember being cozied up indoors under a blanket with my babies watching it fall. I’ll be glad to never have to depend on public transportation or taxis to get me around on their time, or walk through the dirty streets inevitably in the fumes of the cigarette smoke from people upwind from us. I won’t long for living in the confines of a tiny apartment, but I’ll certainly miss the feeling of comfort and community that comes with having people all around us.

I will desperately yearn for the distinct freedom and rock-n-roll vibe that literally reverberates off of the buildings to the pounding of feet on the pavement.

I’ll miss the perfect anonymity that comes with living in a place with millions of people doing their own thing.

I’ll surely wish that there was amazing food available at my reach at almost any time of day.

The culture, diversity, and constant change that is Manhattan will never be far from my mind. I know that this place will always be here, and it will always be how I remembered it.

While winter in the city presents some challenges for families, in many ways it’s that extra nudge that we need to get the kids out of the apartment and exploring the fantastic things available at our fingertips. Plus, often staying indoors is more difficult-I can do arts & crafts, cooking and board games until I’m blue in the face, but winter is MONTHS long and cabin fever gets the better of me.

On weekends we’ve been heading out to the museums as much as possible. Our new favorite, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, has been a wonderful new addition to our winter weekend routine. We ventured out to see their new Matisse exhibit a few weeks ago while Justin’s parents were in town for Jack’s birthday. It was such a great experience-we all had a blast.

Zoe loved everything except the “Mommy” exhibit. (Trying to explain the difference between mommies and mummies wasn’t something I had prepared for!)

I loved watching them absorb the different paintings and statues, and interpreting for themselves and often aloud. I can’t imagine how experiencing art could be nearly as magnificent without having my children around to demonstrate right along with me.

I clearly took full advantage of the magnificent space and light and had a blast snapping photos of them.

The kids participated in the Start with Art program offered which was for kids 3-7 and free with admission (kids are free anyway!) and they absolutely loved it. It gave them a chance to talk about the paintings with other kids around and then drew a little bit themselves. Super cool, I thought.

It was a full day and I couldn’t help but feel as I often do-extraordinarily lucky to have these types of experiences at my fingertips. I think that the greatest gift that I’ve been bestowed by New York City is the ability to challenge myself into taking the leap into doing things like traveling with three kids. I was so daunted by adventures like these with the kids before I moved, and now there is very little that will stop me from trying. I don’t think it matters where we move, museums are often easy enough to find and they are so very worth the energy and commitment.

Beyond all else, this is what I consider a part of my job as a parent. I hope that I can continue to explore the city wherever we live, and I believe that we’ll be able to now that I’ve earned my city stripes.

I was not compensated in any way for this post.