East Coast Highlights

Traveling to the East Coast was hard for me, in large part because I haven't left the house for more than a couple of hours in almost four months.  It was also hard because the last time we were there, we were there with Max.  Anyway, while it was very emotional, I wanted to mention some really nice things.  Our niece, Sadie, seems to love us just as much as ever, even without Max.  She showers attention on both of us whenever we are around her, calling out our names, An Abby (Aunt Abby) and Unko Teddy (Uncle Teddy) constantly.  We love it.  We got to spend time with Ted's family, which was so important.  We stayed at Auntie Beth's house, even though she stayed in Brooklyn the night before the Marathon and a few of Teddy's friends came over, which was so nice.  How hard it must have been for them to see Ted and I in such a sad state.  They asked lots of questions about how our lives are now, about Maxie, about my medium friend.  They didn't ignore the elephant in the room.  They got into it with us, even cried with us, and I so appreciated it.  Since Max died, it is hard for me to just make small talk.  I want to talk about the most important thing in our lives - MAX.  Chris Barry's wife, Jodi, made us a wonderful photo album for our photos of Maxie.  It is so creative and shows so much love. After my panic attack, we drove straight to Carmen's apartment in Manhattan and she greeted us outside and helped me walk into the building and up to her place.  I was not in good shape.  I was extra slow and couldn't breathe easily yet.  She let me lean on her and even made me laugh a little.  She had all sorts of snacks and drinks for us when we got up there.  If you know her, you know she is a wonderful hostess.  She stayed with me in the apartment while I laid on an aero mattress on the floor, crying on and off for hours instead of watching the marathon, which I now know is one of her favorite NYC things to do (watching the Marathon, not watching me cry).  When we went to the bar, there were so many friends and family members there to greet us and celebrate Beth. I appreciated so much how so many of them came to talk to me about Max, about who he was, and about what they can do to help keep his spirit alive.  My birthday was not happy, but Beth and Carmen had me laughing a lot of that morning.  They are both so funny and it was actually so nice to see both of them so happy.  They are in good places and they both look beautiful and happy and that made me feel good.  That night, we went downtown to Mario Batali's restaurant Babbo, where our friend Josh Laurano is a chef.  He came in on a night he doesn't work to make our dinner.  It was incredible.  There were many courses, all paired with perfect wines.  Josh came out of the kitchen and described each course to us as it arrived.  We felt so special.  It was amazing.  I used to love playing the last supper game with friends.  You know?  What would you order if you were on death row for your last meal?  Mine has been KFC for a few years standing.  I know it is way gross, but that is why I never eat it and frankly, I love it.  I have changed my order (so you know).  It is now Raviolo with ricotta and duck egg inside with shaved truffle on top.  AMAZING!  He picked out each dish for us special.  Then, when the check arrived, the whole dinner was a gift from our friend Jeff Shepro.  We definitely over ate.  We were uncomfortable in the cab.  I wish I had worn a looser waisted outfit to dinner.  We rolled up to Carmen's apartment and passed out.  The next morning, Gigi drove all the way back into Manhattan to pick us up and take us to the airport.  I have put my focus on the bad and hard but I wanted you to know that there was a lot of nice and good too.  Below is a photo of one of the five desserts that we received AFTER a sherbert course!  Also a photo from Carmen's balcony.  Nice view!