25 and Awesome to be Alive

So Wifey had to sit this one out, on account of some sciatica, but drove me to MIA and then made another trip to fetch Edna, who flew to town to keep her company.  I met D1 and we had a great breakfast at the lounge, and then were off to LGA.

We landed, and it was cold.  Like real cold.  D1 was none too happy, but I realized that as I get older and fatter, I sort of like the change.  I mean, I prefer cool, but cold doesn't really bother me, even after nearly 4 decades of being a tropical guy.  We walked around, got a bite to eat, and then waited for D2 -- the reason for this season.  She met us at the hotel, and it was a sweet reunion.  First up -- Dad's pick for steak.

We ubered to Pietro's, the last of the Mad Men era non chain steak places in Midtown.  I dug the place right away -- old school, no nonsense.  D1 asked for some mint in her cocktail, and the waiter, who looked like he had ridden the subway for 40 years, smirked and said "Nah -- not here."  I had a NY strip and a couple of martinis, and the three of us talked of life, and jobs.  We made it an early night.

Friday D2 took a rare personal day from work.  We went to SoHo and met D1's old friend Sidney -- a young lady she met through her buddy Nicole.  Sidney comes from a HUGELY wealthy old NY rich family -- Mom's side owns a lot of Manhattan real estate, but Sidney is down to earth and lovely.  She's getting a MBA at NYU.  We ate at Sadelle's, and had awesome lox and bagels.  We then walked around the 'hood, and the ladies found a pop up Italian shoe store.  It had a most comfortable Dad/Husband couch, and I happily sat and watched them pick out shoes.

That evening the eating continued -- a sushi place on the Upper East Side, D1 had read about. But before we stopped at a tavern called Whitman and Bloom to meet D2's bud Ben, who was hosting his mom Julie and Julie's Kiwi friend Helen.  After a few, we then ubered to the Japanese place. We met Paul and Patricia there, and finally got to see Jonathan.  We had the best sushi any of us had ever had, and tore through 5 bottles of saki -- even D1 got a bit buzzed.  Jonathan filled us in on the latest in high finance -- Paul is an investing junkie and enjoyed the talk quite a bit.  D2 beamed.

Saturday Jonathan took a rare day off, and we Ubered to the Meatpacking District.  It was clear and bitter cold.  We went to the new Whitney Museum, and ducked in to the cafe.  The wait was 30 minutes, so we gave our names, and then went to buy tickets.  D2 got two free passes for being a Macy's exec.  After we bought the tickets, we realized we had unwittingly cut a 100 person line waiting outside.  Oh well -- no one smacked us.

We ate, and Jonathan noticed tennis great John Mcenroe sitting right behind me.  I'm not a tennis guy, but briefly thought about asking if he was Jimmy Connors.  I didn't.

We loved the museum -- Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, a great film exhibit.  It was packed but we saw the whole place.  We headed back to Murray Hill to await the night's next meal.

It was decided that just drinking at the restaurant wasn't enough, so we met Paul, Patricia, Tracy and Jon, and Grant and I met first at the Whitman tavern.

I rarely cry.  Paul cries a lot lately.  Before I knew it, the two of us were at it like two Italian widows -- crying from the happiness of being with our kids, and celebrating.  The two of us are the luckiest law partners I know, and we expressed it at the tavern.

From there, we went to Sammy's, and they ushered us to a second floor room I didn't know existed.  We ate, and danced, and drank 6 bottles of vodka (I over did it, but D1 escorted me safely home), and had an evening to remember.  D2 proclaimed it a 25th birthday party for the ages, and it was.

Sunday am D1 was shocked to see I wasn't in worse shape from the excess of ETOH, but I explained that having a protective layer of belly fat is sometimes a good thing.  Alas -- poor Jonathan hadn't fared as well.  D1 met her sorority buddy Jamie for coffee, and D2, Jonathan, and I walked to Ess-a bagel near Stuy Town.  Poor Jonathan nearly didn't make it, and when he sat at a table while we ordered, two girls next to him said "Man -- you look like shit."  Alas, the bagel and coffee revived him, and we walked back to the apartment, where we caught up with Jamie, a Gainesville native now living in the West Village and working, following a 2 year TFA gig, for the NY City Board of Ed.

We said our goodbyes, and D1 and I headed back to LGA, and had a lovely flight home.  Wifey and Edna fetched us, and I drove D1 to her apartment.

We came home and caught some of the Super Bowl -- I fell asleep before Tom Brady led a historic overtime win.  I've watched football long enough to see it coming after the Falcons collapsed in the 4th quarter.

All in all, it was a banner weekend.  My baby D is now a quarter century old.  We celebrated in style, and in a LOT of food and drinking.  Viva D2!