Loved reading this, Stacy! For a long time, it was my dream to live in NYC and work at a magazine, too. In college, I went on a trip with the other magazine journalism majors and got to tour all the major magazine offices. Now I live in a tiny TN mountain town even smaller than the small town where I grew up. 😆 It’s fun to picture what life would’ve been like, but I resonated with so much of what you said—my 20-yr-old self had a very romanticized version of living in NYC in mind. I’m not sure my present, mid-thirties self would find it quite as glamorous. 🤪 Thanks for sharing this!
I appreciate you sharing that you wondered if you’d be brave enough to walk around alone and did! Not sure if I would! I’ve only ever seen NYC through a tv screen or photos and seems like such a far off place in my mind.
Just had friends tell me all about the vlogger documentary this weekend, sounds wild!!
I grew up on a farm in southern Minnesota, lived in several big cities (Minneapolis, Chicago, Toronto) and now hail from rural Montana. Visiting NYC virtually through your experience reminded me of the busy, non-stop days I have spent there and how the electricity-filled atmosphere always helps me appreciate the quiet at home that fills my soul.
All the rom coms I saw during what I call the golden age of the rom com (Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail, Two Weeks Notice, etc.) made me want to visit NYC, and I still haven't been! I loved reading your reflections. I think most of us have wondered what our lives would look like if we had made different choices. I often wonder what mine would look like had I married earlier or majored in something different. I used to get really hung up on the "what ifs" but now I try to be thankful for the "what is."
Sooo many parallel lives! Did you read The Midnight Library? Your post makes me want to reread it. :) and I love that farming is what brought you back to NYC. ❤️
“Maybe that’s what’s so fun about traveling: it’s picturing living a different life. Not because my real life is bad, but because it’s fun to think of the what-ifs.” Love this! So true!
Loved your NYC update! I also loved NYC and when we visited last fall for my husband’s 40th daydreamed about an alternate universe in which we lived there.
Your NYC trip sounds like fun! It really is good to visit different places for perspective. We honeymooned there and in typical “Nebraska Nice” style we hung back to thank our tour guide on the water ferry. He commented that we have only one thing that New York doesn’t: “Peace and quiet!” Hubby absolutely loves NYC and jokes about retiring there (I would NEVER). He imagines that in an alternate life he would have enjoyed the challenge of working on Wall Street.
Loved reading this-felt like I was traveling after reading your words! That final scene on 5th avenue--so beautiful.
I finally watched Sliding Doors, for the first time, a few months ago -- whoa--so good. And EEEEEK The Pitt! I haven't watched Ep. 13 yet...not sure I'm emotionally prepared. But my goodness can Noah Wyle act. So glad you like it!
I watched Sliding Doors for the first time just a few years ago, but I've thought about it a lot since then! I just watched episode 13 this morning!! I will be sad when this season is over. It's weird when I watch it, sometimes I forget that it's all still the same day, but I notice it when I see Kiara (sp?) wearing the same shirt and remember it's STILL the same day.
That would have been so fun! Especially since I got to see Katie on the other side of the country shortly after! Hopefully, it's not 20 years before I get back to NYC. Haha.
Hi Stacy! Love your reflection on NY and how you think how life might be different. I like how you said it's just a fun thing to do 😊
Also YES to the Ruby Franke documentary. I just watched it recently too and man, I can't get it out of my head. Horrifying! Shocking! What on earth!? So many thoughts I had to write them all down in their own Google doc. How does something like that happen? How does a mother TORTURE her children bc she thinks they're demon possessed? And how do people get sucked into cult-like situations without stopping to think? It's so subtle and so scary. All I can conclude is that I pray for those poor children, and that they find the true God in the midst of all that pain. Awful. Anyway if you have more thoughts about it, I'm happy to read 😂
I had a lot of the same thoughts about Devil in the Family. Somehow I managed to have never heard of her when it was all actually happening, but sheesh! It really is so hard to understand. And her husband. I just can't believe he was clueless about all of it.
Yeah, I think the relationship there was clearly Ruby being the super assertive motivated one, and Kevin the weaker one who just wanted to keep her happy. That he was willing to go to the police and stand up for Ruby against her kids is nuts. But, weirdly, he seems so likeable in the interviews? I like his honesty I think. Look at Chad too, how he just got sucked right in as well. Shari is the only one who didn't buy into it. Such a weird way for a family to operate and I got to say, the devil in the family was definitely Jodi to begin with. She was all red flags from the start, but obviously a very charismatic kind of woman who clearly had a large following.
I had so many similar thoughts about Ruby after watching it. How DOES that happen? Part of me wants to judge/blame the husband, although it's probably not fair either. But HOW could he go a whole year without seeing the kids? I know he was a victim too, but I don't get that part. The only thing I can assume (think?) with cults is that it must be such a slippery slope, that you don't realize you're in it (like a frog boiling in water?) until it's too late. And by then, you've drunk the Kool-Aid and don't care. Did you see that Ruby's daughter wrote a book? I haven't read it, but am curious! It was telling that she refers to her parents by their first names throughout the series, not mom and dad.
Cults are so fascinatingly scary. It just shows how important discernment is, right? If we know the Truth, we've got to measure everything to that, even if it seems right. I'm very keen to read her book now, and yes, so telling that she doesn't call them Dad and Mom. I read an interview about her book and I think she said that she calls them by their first names bc she doesn't see them as her parents anymore. Re the book, I'm interested to see what Ruby was like as a mother behind the scenes. She alludes to that in the documentary - mentioning things like the punishments Chad received, and having to help him clean blood up!!! Shows that maybe her behaviour at the end isn't so different from what she was already like.
Loved reading this, Stacy! For a long time, it was my dream to live in NYC and work at a magazine, too. In college, I went on a trip with the other magazine journalism majors and got to tour all the major magazine offices. Now I live in a tiny TN mountain town even smaller than the small town where I grew up. 😆 It’s fun to picture what life would’ve been like, but I resonated with so much of what you said—my 20-yr-old self had a very romanticized version of living in NYC in mind. I’m not sure my present, mid-thirties self would find it quite as glamorous. 🤪 Thanks for sharing this!
I appreciate you sharing that you wondered if you’d be brave enough to walk around alone and did! Not sure if I would! I’ve only ever seen NYC through a tv screen or photos and seems like such a far off place in my mind.
Just had friends tell me all about the vlogger documentary this weekend, sounds wild!!
It's a very cool place to visit! It feels a lot like what you see on TV! :)
I grew up on a farm in southern Minnesota, lived in several big cities (Minneapolis, Chicago, Toronto) and now hail from rural Montana. Visiting NYC virtually through your experience reminded me of the busy, non-stop days I have spent there and how the electricity-filled atmosphere always helps me appreciate the quiet at home that fills my soul.
All the rom coms I saw during what I call the golden age of the rom com (Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail, Two Weeks Notice, etc.) made me want to visit NYC, and I still haven't been! I loved reading your reflections. I think most of us have wondered what our lives would look like if we had made different choices. I often wonder what mine would look like had I married earlier or majored in something different. I used to get really hung up on the "what ifs" but now I try to be thankful for the "what is."
I love your reflection on being thankful for "what is" instead of "what if" ❤️
Yes! It was the golden age of rom coms, and all those movies made me want to move to NYC. 😂 I love the idea of what is! 💛
Sooo many parallel lives! Did you read The Midnight Library? Your post makes me want to reread it. :) and I love that farming is what brought you back to NYC. ❤️
“Maybe that’s what’s so fun about traveling: it’s picturing living a different life. Not because my real life is bad, but because it’s fun to think of the what-ifs.” Love this! So true!
I haven’t! But I have heard of it! I’ll add it to my list to read!
Midnight Library is one of my favorite books ever! And yes, Stacy, you should definitely read it!
I’ve heard of that book, but haven’t read it! I’ll have to get it from the library!
Loved your NYC update! I also loved NYC and when we visited last fall for my husband’s 40th daydreamed about an alternate universe in which we lived there.
So fun! It’s a great city! I don’t know if actually would like to live there, but it’s fun to visit!
Your NYC trip sounds like fun! It really is good to visit different places for perspective. We honeymooned there and in typical “Nebraska Nice” style we hung back to thank our tour guide on the water ferry. He commented that we have only one thing that New York doesn’t: “Peace and quiet!” Hubby absolutely loves NYC and jokes about retiring there (I would NEVER). He imagines that in an alternate life he would have enjoyed the challenge of working on Wall Street.
Nebraska nice. 😂 love it! That sounds like a fun honeymoon!
Loved reading this-felt like I was traveling after reading your words! That final scene on 5th avenue--so beautiful.
I finally watched Sliding Doors, for the first time, a few months ago -- whoa--so good. And EEEEEK The Pitt! I haven't watched Ep. 13 yet...not sure I'm emotionally prepared. But my goodness can Noah Wyle act. So glad you like it!
I watched Sliding Doors for the first time just a few years ago, but I've thought about it a lot since then! I just watched episode 13 this morning!! I will be sad when this season is over. It's weird when I watch it, sometimes I forget that it's all still the same day, but I notice it when I see Kiara (sp?) wearing the same shirt and remember it's STILL the same day.
Still wish our trips would have overlapped! 😜 and Brett and I are loving the Pitt, too!
That would have been so fun! Especially since I got to see Katie on the other side of the country shortly after! Hopefully, it's not 20 years before I get back to NYC. Haha.
Hi Stacy! Love your reflection on NY and how you think how life might be different. I like how you said it's just a fun thing to do 😊
Also YES to the Ruby Franke documentary. I just watched it recently too and man, I can't get it out of my head. Horrifying! Shocking! What on earth!? So many thoughts I had to write them all down in their own Google doc. How does something like that happen? How does a mother TORTURE her children bc she thinks they're demon possessed? And how do people get sucked into cult-like situations without stopping to think? It's so subtle and so scary. All I can conclude is that I pray for those poor children, and that they find the true God in the midst of all that pain. Awful. Anyway if you have more thoughts about it, I'm happy to read 😂
I had a lot of the same thoughts about Devil in the Family. Somehow I managed to have never heard of her when it was all actually happening, but sheesh! It really is so hard to understand. And her husband. I just can't believe he was clueless about all of it.
Yeah, I think the relationship there was clearly Ruby being the super assertive motivated one, and Kevin the weaker one who just wanted to keep her happy. That he was willing to go to the police and stand up for Ruby against her kids is nuts. But, weirdly, he seems so likeable in the interviews? I like his honesty I think. Look at Chad too, how he just got sucked right in as well. Shari is the only one who didn't buy into it. Such a weird way for a family to operate and I got to say, the devil in the family was definitely Jodi to begin with. She was all red flags from the start, but obviously a very charismatic kind of woman who clearly had a large following.
Same. 😢
I had so many similar thoughts about Ruby after watching it. How DOES that happen? Part of me wants to judge/blame the husband, although it's probably not fair either. But HOW could he go a whole year without seeing the kids? I know he was a victim too, but I don't get that part. The only thing I can assume (think?) with cults is that it must be such a slippery slope, that you don't realize you're in it (like a frog boiling in water?) until it's too late. And by then, you've drunk the Kool-Aid and don't care. Did you see that Ruby's daughter wrote a book? I haven't read it, but am curious! It was telling that she refers to her parents by their first names throughout the series, not mom and dad.
Cults are so fascinatingly scary. It just shows how important discernment is, right? If we know the Truth, we've got to measure everything to that, even if it seems right. I'm very keen to read her book now, and yes, so telling that she doesn't call them Dad and Mom. I read an interview about her book and I think she said that she calls them by their first names bc she doesn't see them as her parents anymore. Re the book, I'm interested to see what Ruby was like as a mother behind the scenes. She alludes to that in the documentary - mentioning things like the punishments Chad received, and having to help him clean blood up!!! Shows that maybe her behaviour at the end isn't so different from what she was already like.
I thought that was so sad (about the daughter calling her parents by their first names).