I'm ashamed to say the blog is a whole month behind. When I said I was bored in New Jersey I must have cursed myself because July has been the busiest I've been all year, with the exception of wedding planning of course. Be careful what you wish for cuz you just might get it! ;)
No in all seriousness I'm grateful for the craziness. This past month has been such a good one. I feel like I've learned so many things in the past couple weeks, about my marriage, myself, my family, my testimony... July had some really hard times and some really great times in store for us, but the most important part of those moments is having the ability to accept defeat, embrace humility and take in lessons to be learned. I wish I could record each and every one of the experiences I've had, but there's simply too little time and too few words to explain the emotions that have been felt.
Now on to catching up!
As I mentioned almost a month ago! Larissa and Joel came out to Jersey to visit. We packed a week full of sightseeing with trips to Carlos' Bakery, the Jersey Shore, Grand Central, Central Park and every other main sight in New York City. One of my favorite days, however, was spent at Ellis and Liberty Islands on July 3rd.
The 4th of July is by far my favorite holiday, and the past two years Jace and I have spent it at perfect-patriot-praising locations. Last year we were able to watch Macy's fireworks over the Hudson River with a red, white and blue Empire State Building in the distance. Then the following day we were able to go to Independence Hall in Philadelphia where we were able to see the Liberty Bell and learn about the founders of our great country. So when I was booking tickets for the Statue ferries, what better day than 4th of July weekend to admire Lady Liberty.
It was overcast, and I was grumpy. We had stayed up way too late the night before so we were scrambling to make it on the 9 am train. It was pouring when we left the apartment and as we rounded the corner the train was already coming in to the station. We splashed down the street full speed ahead, ducked under the crossing arms (don't try this at home folks) and Wayne called to the conductor to hold the doors. Lucky for us he did and we made it!
The next stop, however, was not so lucky. I was hustlin'- plowin' through the crowds to make it on the transfer train to Penn Station. But everyone else- Larissa, Joel, Jason and Wayne were taking their time behind me. So when I got on the train I turned to hold the door for the others. Except those doors don't hold, they slide right on shut! It was just like a movie, me on one side and Jace on the other staring at each other through the window as the train started chuggin'. 'Cept it was no romantic moment. I was mad. And better yet, I had everyone's train tickets.
So as I huffed and puffed to an empty seat I figured I'd have to catch the next train back to Hoboken an hour later, give them their tickets, wait for yet another train and finally make it in to Penn with just enough time to miss our ferry to Liberty Island. Ugh. So not only had I not gotten enough sleep, but I hadn't had time to curl my eyelashes, it was raining on my parade, I'm sitting next to a stranger on the train, and my party's left without tickets. Good thing the stranger didn't want to talk, I would have bit his head off.
Anyways....
Somehow our luck turned right around. I noticed that the conducter didn't come around to collect tickets since they already had from Rutherford to Hoboken, so I waited at Penn only 15 minutes before everyone joined me. We were early to our ferry, and since we were one of the first groups on we even scored a bench as the rain stopped pouring. So to say the least, my foul mood decided to dissipate as well.
Besides, seeing the Statue rise from the fog is a magical moment. It's exciting and thrilling, as if you're an
immigrant yourself, seeing America for the first time and Lady Liberty the first to welcome you on land.
We got off the ferry and walked around the island, snapping pics of course, grabbing drinks and touring the gift shop.
We got off the ferry and walked around the island, snapping pics of course, grabbing drinks and touring the gift shop.
I had no idea we were going on the 125th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty!
I think Jace found his Halloween costume!
That feeling only got stronger as we stepped onto Ellis Island. You become painfully aware, as you peruse the museum, that thousands of souls sacrificed everything they had to allow their posterity a future life in America.
"It's hard to imagine a place that says more about the American experience than Ellis Island. For twelve million people, Ellis Island was the doorway to a new life. The hopes and dreams of several generations of immigrants began and sometimes ended there, and there are few American families who can't trace their heritage back to someone whose first footsteps on American soil happened at Ellis Island."
It's sad, the story of Ellis Island. For months someone could be detained there, waiting for proper documentation, for a disease to pass, or money to arrive. Night after night some would wait, with the hope of America just across the river.
The view from a window on Ellis Island
We learned one woman waited over a year before finally being deported back to her homeland. They were so close to that which they sought, but some would never make it.
I loved these pictures. I can't remember the name of the photographer, I wish I did, they were beautiful. When immigration no longer went through Ellis Island this photographer got free reign of the island's hospital complex.
"Neglected for nearly fifty years, the buildings were in an extreme state of disrepair: lead paint peeled from the ceilings and walls, vines and trees grew through the floorboards of once cramped wards. In these long-abandoned spaces there was an unyielding solitude, yet undeniable evidence of life, not only in the implicit remembrances of the people who resided there."
Some of the remains of Ellis Island
As we walked through the museum I turned to Jason and mumbled, "This is so sad." He didn't understand, like any man. ;) "It's not like the Holocaust or anything," he responded. Well no, of course not, but it was sad to me, as I celebrate my 21st year of being an American, I take for granted the freedom, the hope, the potential I have just living in the United States. So many people gave up their fortune, their homes, their lives just to allow their posterity a bright future in America. We should be so grateful.
This 4th of July I am truly proud to be an American.
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