Guest Blogger Spotlight: An NYC Adventure by Glamamom 09/29/2011

Have you ever taken the subway in New York City? Dashed through the turnstile mid-summer, getting clipped by the unforgiving mechanical doors, and squeezing past the cranky rush hour crowd only to realize the guy next to you is gearing up for an accordion concert and the train car has no air conditioning and is making all local stops?

When I first moved to NYC in 1999, despite having grown up just an hour outside of Manhattan, I didn’t know east from west, uptown from downtown. Descending beneath the streets to an underground world of screeching trains, furry inhabitants, and hurried passengers, frightened me to the core.

But alas, I had to get to work and in no time at all I got my “city legs” and the subway became my preferred mode of transportation. For all its smelly chaos, it’s inexpensive, efficient, and boasts some of the best entertainment the City has to offer.

A tried and true New Yorker can navigate mass transit with ease. They know the fastest routes and the most convenient times to travel. They know the exact spot to stand on the platform that coincides with the opening of the train doors and exactly where to get off for the nearest exit. They know where to transfer and connect, and confidently dole out directions to fellow navigators in need.

You could say, I finally got my membership card. I was a bona fide New Yawka!

Ten years later, when my son Sebastian was born, my membership card didn’t free me from that panicky fear of the subway all over again. Just bringing my little bundle of joy outside of our apartment took so much effort. The idea of schlepping him down numerous flights of stairs into the noisy chaos of the subway seemed unmanageable.

This past spring though, Sebastian’s time came– his baptism, if you will, into the most creative, hardworking, and colorful underground community in the world.

We took the F train to Coney Island to the NY Aquarium. He was scared at first but wide-eyed and mesmerized by the comings and goings, the lights and sounds.

I’ll never forget the look of wonderment on his face and how he became more comfortable at every stop, until finally he was smiling and waving at passengers as they hopped on and off. One trip and it was abundantly clear, he’s a native.

Guest blogger Jill Seiman is a city mom in the truest fashion! Between juggling the responsibilities of running her own media company and introducing her son to the wonders of the city, she chronicles her adventures in life, fashion, and motherhood on her blog, Glamamom.

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