Summer in Sunnyside, Queens

Below was written a year ago and I forgot to post it:


Well, folks, I haven't posted a blog article in a long time.  As happens to most after becoming a parent, I have taken time off from hobbies such as writing in favor of spending as much time as possible with our bundle of joy.  No regrets.  Motherhood has been rich.  Now that a year and a half of changing diapers, reading parenting books, and cooking mushed vegetables has gone by, I have time to write a post.  It is about spending the summer in Queens, NY as a family.  I mistakenly just wrote that I have the time.  I'm sure a few other parents just laughed with me.  What I meant to say, is this is time that I should be and wish I was.......... sleeping. I can't sleep because I worked swing shift last night, and although I'd love to crawl into bed my internal clock has not gotten the memo that I'm not at work right now.  So for as long as it takes me to finish this mug of chamomile tea, I will write this post.


I will write on how Sunnyside, Queens, NY is distinct.  Every neighborhood of NY has it's own cultural routines and expectations, and Sunnyside is no exception.  I have a few images to prove it:




This picture will seem familiar to some.  Such a scene of old men playing chess in the park is depicted in the movie "Raising Helen", which is set in Queens.  I have never seen anyone but elderly gentleman playing on these chess tables.  I have wondered if I should attempt to camp out there one day and see if they ask me to leave.  It is quite possible that they wouldn't, but I would get many frowns from passerby as this would be going against the grain. Also note, there is diversity in this group.  Each time I take Robby to this park, I run into another mother and child of a different nationality.  I'm starting to keep track.  So far Robby has played with babies who are of the following primary ethnicities, and their parent's accents back it up: Palestinian, Russian, Columbian, Turkish, Mexican, Irish, Italian, and Greek.  I think I have only ran into another caucasian mix like myself twice.

Below is the sprinkler at the park.  Robby and Robert are the father and son running through it.  You'll notice the park grounds are made of rubber.  This is weird to me, since isn't a park supposed to consist of nature?  This is Queens we are talking about, so no.  It's not.  But - it is much less likely Robby will hurt himself so that is good.  Also, look how creative it all is?  This is a rainbow with sprinklers at both ends.  I would have loved this as a kid.  At another park in Sunnyside there is a mosaic circle with sprinklers at four corners. It, too, is on rubber. I know the sprinklers are there and constantly on because it is so hot,  but it's still funny to me that they are not embedded in a grassy knoll somewhere.  Even the baseball field is rubber!  Robby is one urban boy.  This will all be normal to him.

Life is so full of surprises.  I think even at the age of 25, if someone had told me I'd one day be living in NY, and that my son would play on rubber playgrounds, and would be so rich in knowledge of different cultures before preschool, I don't think I could have imagined it. I certainly wouldn't have planned it.  Life has made me much more exciting than I ever would have made myself.

There are some pictures I've wanted to take but have not had the chance.  One is alley volleyball.  When I go for a run I frequently see a nearby car shop alley used as a volleyball court.  One end of the net is pinned to a garage door, and the other is pinned to the cemetery fence. Pavement volleyball, wow. Also, a sidewalk yard sale outside an apartment building is a frequent site around the neighborhood.  Over the weekend I bought two turquoise vases at such a sale.

Have a good night, all.  Hopefully I will not need a second cup of chamomile tea.

Emily

 P.S. To the left is an ice cream truck, of course.  They have a distinct NY 1980s Law and Order feel to them.  These are on nearly every street of all NYC.