“Has she got a tail?”

C has been commuting weekly between London and New York. He works all day and then walks around Manhattan in the evenings, searching for the right neighbourhood for us to live in (for more on this, click here). Luckily Greenwich is very close to London City Airport, which flies direct to JFK.

C flew home to London City Airport this morning, we were all up and dressed and waiting by the window at 7.30am. T went berserk with excitement when the taxi pulled up, and 16 month old B toddled over pointing a podgy finger and chanting “Da, Da, Da, Da”. So lovely. And I have a present, a shiny new iPad with which to write this blog and also keep in touch with everyone once we’re gone. Brilliant. Feel like a smart, sophisticated, technologically savvy woman of the world. Wonder how long that’s going to last.

We’ve got a few people coming round for tea tomorrow to start saying our goodbyes. T wanted to know who one of them, Lisa, was.

“She looks a bit like a mermaid,” I said, “she’s very tall with lovely long, yellow, curly hair all the way down her back.” Pause. “Has she got a tail?”

I texted Lisa, who says that’s the best text message she’s ever had and she’s going to keep it forever.

T’s quite funny about mermaids. A few weeks ago she asked, “What you eatin’, Mummy?”

“Toast with butter and marmite. Want to try some?”

“Toast with MERMAID? Swim, swim up in the sky?”

“Er…”

“No, Mummy. Mermaids are not for eating. Put it back. Right. Now.”

Author: Alex

Hello. Toddling Round New York is my own little blog of our family's experience of moving young kids from London to New York... And of having a baby out here. They are my own baby steps of exploring this incredible city. I lived in five countries in four continents growing up, so you'd think I'd be good at this by now. Here you'll find stories and photographs of our adventures, the highs and the lows of expat parenthood, and some ideas I hope you'll find useful if you're in New York with young kids. View all posts by Alex