Hello from NYC!

My husband and I have been in Manhattan all week for his work, and this weekend, we’ll be enjoying our East Coast baby shower! I can’t wait to see all our loved ones and celebrate the rapidly approaching arrival of our baby girl!

I’m not sure if I’ve told you all this yet, but Baby Berbette is a BIG BABY. She is measuring in the 96th percentile…to the point that they’ve moved my due date UP A WEEK!!! People are SHOCKED when they see my belly and find out I’m only 27 weeks. Most people think I am 36 weeks from the size of the humongous basketball I’m carrying around!

So that’s great news — we love that she’s big and healthy. Now…ask me how I feel about that from the perspective of wanting a natural, unmedicated birth….LOL!!!!!

Just kidding. I am so grateful to God for giving us this beautiful, strong little girl. Not to mention, God created me to do hard things! So I know I can do this!!

ANYWHO – it’s pretty safe to say that since moving to Ohio, my husband and I just flat out don’t miss New York. Don’t get me wrong…we miss our family and friends here of course, but the city itself…yeahhh, we’re good on that.

I mean, if you’ve been keeping tabs on the city like we have, you know that crime is through the roof — to the tune that they’ve had to employ the National Guard on the subways. Women are getting punched in the face in broad daylight, thanks to a new “knockout game” that is taking NYC by storm, and leaving hundreds of black-eyed women in its wake. And to top it off, there is a serious illegal migrant issue, with hundreds of thousands flooding the city, taking residence in luxury hotels and being given tax-payer-funded debit cards to live off of.

Our hotel choices this trip were incredibly limited because so many hotels have been converted to house the illegal migrants that get bussed here daily. Limited options, and the ones we did have available were astronomically expensive.

But I digress.

Let me tell you a quick story that happened on our way to our hotel from the airport that perfectly sums up what NYC is like nowadays.

So we’re in an Uber…a $115 Uber from the airport to the city, mind you…and we’re approaching our hotel. It’s situated in a very complicated cross-section where there are lots of bike lanes, pedestrian-only sections, and only one, one-way road. Needless to say, it was tricky for our Uber driver to navigate, especially at 9am on Monday morning — right during rush hour.

Anyway — our Uber driver had to cross over the bike lane (perfectly legal) and then pull over on the one-way road so we could get out of the car in front of our hotel.

So we’re cautiously crossing the bike lane, and there’s this guy — dressed in a nice suit, on his electric scooter on his way to work. And he has to slow down to accommodate our car crossing the bike lane (we had the green light and right-of-way).

Anyway — as we’re crossing in front of him, he HOCKS A LOOGIE in anger onto our car window!!! AND THEN, seeing that we’re pulling over to the shoulder and getting out, he drives his scooter over to the car, and starts yelling expletives at our driver, and getting in his face and trying to start a physical altercation!!!

I was terrified to get out of the car, to be honest.

This man was out of control.

Our driver tried his best to ignore him and just help us out of the car with our suitcases.

My husband shielded me and protected me as we hurried into the hotel, “She’s pregnant!“

It was just one of those episodes where you like, Yep…I’m back in New York, alright.

And that’s another thing — people have absolutely no respect for pregnant women here either. On the plane, I decided to count the number of other pregnant women I saw in New York while I was here…I made a bet with my husband. I said: in a city of 8 million people, I betcha I don’t see 10 pregnant women.

And it’s our last day in the city: I’ve see three.

I’d be walking out of the grocery store or CVS with two big grocery bags — one time I was even carrying a case of water — and this guy watched me and waited on the other side of the glass door while I was struggling trying to hoist the door open with my leg! And then when I did finally get the door open, he walked through it first!!!

I mean, I’m not expecting chivalry here or anything, but at least some human decency or respect!

Anyway…

That’s enough of a rant here about New York. Suffice it to say, I am so glad we don’t live here anymore. And to be honest, I cannot believe that I lived for 12 years here. Sure, things were different pre-pandemic, and when all of our friends were here and I had built a life and was falling in love and chasing my dreams. But now — the city is sadly a different place.

And I’m in a different stage of life.

One that, NYC certainly does not cater to.

Anywho – I hope you all have the most wonderful weekend! We’ve got our baby shower to look forward to!!!! And we cannot wait!

I’m off now to scavenge some lunch!