Many, many thanks to all of you who have reached out by text and email to ask about my health and well-being. I hope you are all safe and sane. I am fine. It is easy for me to maintain physical distance from others since I live alone, but I would feel very lonely if not in touch with friends, family, and former clients electronically. Thinking of all of you and appreciate any communication, by any means! Love and best wishes, Barbara
My 73rd birthday! Last time in a sit-down restaurant for a while, it seems. My younger daughter Jen and her husband Tim were in NYC for the occasion, so we had a lovely dinner at Crown Shy, near the old office on Maiden Lane.
I spent Thanksgiving with my granddaughter Kendall in Charlottesville, Virginia. She’s a student at UVa but also works part-time on a farm, and I got to “labor” along side her for a few hours the day before the holiday. Our very
moist and tender turkey had been raised on that farm, and it was delicious. Kendall’s parents and one of her friends shared a great meal with us – much to be thankful for!
Kendall and the bird
Kendall and me, working on the farm. Dirty labor, but at least it did not involve bodily fluids.
I spent some wonderful September days in the south of France with my sister Daphne, celebrating her birthday in Provence and the Côte d’Azur.
Here we are on the Pont d’Avignon (no dancing)
and me in St. Tropez.
Good weather, great food, and thank goodness for GPS or we’d still be lost in the hill towns above Nice and Cannes, where our 2nd Airbnb was located amongst the ups and downs and hairpin turns that characterize the region. Kudos to my sis who drove the stick-shift Peugeot as far as Monaco!
In early April, I spent a lovely 10 days with my daughter Jen and her husband Tim in Oxford and Paris. Jen, founder and CEO of Code for America, was invited back to the Skoll World Forum in Oxford (she won an award last year; this year Nancy Lublin was honored for founding Crisis Text: brava, Nancy!) While Jen was busy with Forum activities, Tim and I explored the colleges, museums, and parks of Oxford. We took a day trip to Bath, where we toured the Roman baths, the cathedral, and the famous Pump Room. On to Paris via the Eurostar train through the Chunnel (sure beats the boat!). Jen and Tim left for California early Monday morning, but I had given myself an extra day in Paris. That night I watched Notre Dame burn from my 6th floor hotel room at 1, Quai St. Michel – an experience I will never forget and wish had never happened. I joined the throngs of Parisians Tuesday morning who lined the banks of the Seine and marveled at what had survived as we mourned what had been lost. Very kind locals who were able to comprehend some of my rudimentary French helped me navigate my way to Orly for my flight home, after I discovered the St. Michel AND the Chatelet RER C stations were closed. Quite an adventure!
Barbara at the Roman baths, Bath
Incorrigible.
I hope you all had a wonderful and not-too-stressful holiday time with family, friends, and good food – I sure did! I loved getting all your holiday cards with family photos – it’s great to see the babies become big kids and the parents appear just a little less tired and a little less uncertain as the years go by. I gotta tell you, it is a wonderful thing not to be tired all the time, and I hope you live long enough to enjoy it, as I am now. It was totally worth it, as a parent and as a midwife, but my constant refrain for half a century (my older daughter is 50 for Pete’s sake!) was “someday.” Have faith – “someday” has come for me, so hang in there. Maybe you, too, will be able to buy a half-price ticket to a Broadway matinee at the TKTS booth, go to the gym, grab a bite for lunch, then take in the play; or spend a day poking around museums or galleries. Leisurely lunches with friends = not a fantasy. Stay healthy so you can!
Good genes help – see below in the right of the photo my 94-year-old Dad. He just hand-built an oak cradle for my niece’s baby, due any day. This is just some of the family in Tulsa; my daughter and granddaughter who live 2 hours away in Arkansas (kneeling on the floor below my dad) had brought me back from their house, where I spent a day with them and my grandson (not pictured). My younger daughter and her family were with other relatives in Colorado, but I got to see both my sisters and their kids and grandkids too.
Glad to be back in NYC for the New Year, and to keep in touch with clients whom I can help. Always available by text, phone (917-686-5309) or email ([email protected]). Stay in touch!
Barbara went out West to visit old friends in Arizona, and got to see the natural wonders of the Red Rocks of Sedona and the Grand Canyon. Pretty impressive!
In honor of my grandson, Kieran, who is 19 years old today. And in honor of my granddaughters and my daughters and my patients and my friends and ALL women.
Mount Sinai has announced they will be closing the Birthing Center at Mt. Sinai West in January, 2019. Fewer choices for childbearing families! We mourn the loss of this option, which was the place of birth of so many CBS babies.
I spent a week on Crete with my sister Daphne & 2 of the grandkids, 18 year-old Kieran & his 15 year-old cousin Clementine. Then we flew to Athens for 3 days.
Barbara in old Chania town, Crete
The view from our villa near Kokkino Chorio. It was so dry there!
Barbara at the Parthenon – a dream come true!
