The Big Apple and the Giving Machines

Phillip took the kids to spend Christmas at our friends' home today while I stayed at Goose Landing to supervise three movers who were boxing up everything we owned.  It would have been fun to relax with loved ones on Christmas Day, but I was actually grateful for a few extra hours to tie up loose ends at home.  And it still feels like home, even though it was a maze of boxes and bare walls when I drove away for the last time this evening.  It still doesn't really feel like we're leaving Maryland.

Phillip and the girls stayed the night at our friends' home so they can clean after the movers pack our boxes into a truck tomorrow.  Meanwhile, the boys and I headed north because we need to get to our apartment by tomorrow afternoon to sign our lease and get utilities set up.  

I actually borrowed this image from a random news site.  Thanks, random news site. :)

On the way north, I saw this.  No, I didn't take that picture (I was too busy barreling up I-95 and trying to figure out which tunnel to go through), but I just couldn't resist including a photo because it's New York City, for Pete's sake!  It's so iconic that it kind of blew my mind to actually see it for the first time, and then drive through it.  It would be like getting in the checkout line behind Julia Roberts at the grocery store, and striking up a conversation about how hard it is to find good strawberries on the East Coast.  Surreal.  But then, this whole day has been surreal.

One reason I was excited to drive through New York City was that the Manhattan Temple was just a few blocks out of our way, and I wanted to make a donation at the Giving Machines that the Church has set up outside that temple this December.  When I first saw a video about them in 2017, I was enchanted by the idea that instead of spending $2 on a vending machine snack, people could spend a few dollars to help someone in need.  They could donate eyeglasses through a local charity, help bring clean water to a faraway village, or donate livestock to help a family in a remote country become self reliant.  I didn't think the machines were anything more than a nice concept, though, until I learned that my mom had donated to one while visiting my brother in Utah this month.  I was delighted to know they were real, and even more excited when I learned we would be driving within a mile of one on our way north.  Alas, we arrived after the Giving Machines had been closed for the night, but it was still fun to see them, and maybe we'll be back to make a donation next year.

This Christmas, at least we got to see the Manhattan Temple and enjoy a moment of uplifting peace before we scurried back to our van (because it was COLD outside!).