Feels Like Home

I think having kids naturally leads us to be philosophical about life and what it means. I can certainly remember times in my life, particularly when I was a teenager, feeling like life was meaningless and longing for a purpose for whatever “suffering” (real or perceived) I felt. Since having Marino, and especially since he’s been at an age where he is interested in learning about the world, I feel like I understand more of life’s meaning. Experiencing life with your child, seeing the world through their eyes, is a beautiful thing. I find it particularly meaningful to experience things with Marino that are similar to things that I experienced as a child. Things that once seemed meaningless now have purpose. Elements of life that I’ve taken for granted I now see with new eyes. I believe that the purpose of life is taking whatever small section of the world you occupy and making it better for the next generation – either your own children or other’s.

All of this melodrama is to say that I really enjoyed this trip “home” (I grew up in Poughkeepsie and lived there until I graduated high school) with Marino. Sonia, Catalina, my mom and I met at the Children’s Museum last Saturday. After we played, we took a walk by the Hudson River with the kids. This view makes me feel all warm inside…it feels like home to me. I can remember seeing this view during so many different moments in my life – most as a careless teenager. But experiencing this feeling with my son, I felt a simple purpose – to enjoy this moment with my child, my best friend, her beautiful daughter and my mother.

It was heartening to find this place better than I remember it. This area, formerly known as The Flats, was once filled with just concrete and trouble. It is now a family friendly, beautiful place. Down the street, a previously abandonded and dilapidated railroad bridge has been transformed to a state park known as the Walkway Over the Hudson. Its existence has helped to revitalize a struggling city into a destination point. People from all around the state and beyond come with their families to walk over the bridge and experience the view. Poughkeepsie’s “parents” have found purpose in a previously ignored bridge and it has left their corner of the world a better place for their children, grandchildren and future generations. I hope this view always feels like home for them as well.