Things I know for sure:
1. Since Neko started school, she and I aren't getting near enough quality time. When she gets home from school, she's tired and cranky and I'm buried under a pile of children and work. We've been trying to make up on weekends, but we were due for some quality one-on-one.
2. Frequent flier miles + my excellent ability to find a killer hotel rate = time away with Neko. It cost the same to stay local or go urban, so we we went urban. I've always wanted to see New York at the holidays!
3. Snow falling does not always mean a flight delay. Broken lavatories do.
4. In conjunction with a stash of markers and paper, modern technology makes a flight with a five-year-old totally doable.
5. Some of the best things in New York are free—the tree at Rockefeller, puppet shows at the public library, and the breathtaking window displays at Lord & Taylor.
6. Times Square in the holiday season is my idea of a living hell. Neon as far as the eye can see and sardine-like sidewalks.
7. I will kiss the person who can tell me how to locate a pair of earmuffs with snowflakes on them (preferably pink) so Neko will stop pestering me about finding them.
8. I can't wait to turn off the lights and snuggle in with my sleeping daughter. I'm so glad we took the time to get away.