Cities

Washington, 2008
Chicago, 2009
Toronto, 2010
New York, 2011
San Francisco, 2012
Montreal, 2013

And I don't know where it will be in 2014. Ottawa and Houston are leading the list of contenders for where we'll call home in 2014. Since my daughter's birth, we've made it a tradition to identify a city and call it home for a week as our vacation. There are some times that I question whether or not to continue this: the trips are difficult in a tiring sort of way. Sometimes, as was the case with New York and Montreal, they feel particularly expensive. And there are times in which I wonder if the kids are enjoying what we do on our days.

A feature in today's New York Times, though, reminded me of why Sherry and I enjoy such trips. That feature was a special report on how New York has been transformed during the years in which Michael Bloomberg has been mayor. I enjoyed the fact that it made sense to me, and I feel like I can appreciate what changes  have taken place there having called that city (and Brooklyn) my home for a week. That vacation ended my fears about driving in the city, and made me feel at ease navigating metropolises such as it. Making my way around Montreal seemed pretty natural this summer. And I look forward to the day when income, time, and ages make it possible to simply fly to one of our old homes for a long weekend to see how things have changed, and how our kids' perspectives have changed in them.