The boys were bigger now, it would be better, like George Michael says, you “got to have faith.” The boys had, of course, done their homework, the biggest Toys R Us in the United States of America was in Times Square. We were on our way to Croatia via New York, for our summer vacation. We were ready, iPads in tow, snacks packed, and a plan: Fly from Vancouver to JFK, a Jamaica, New York hotel where we would nap, and a quick visit to Times Square, then back to our hotel and off to the airport to catch our connection to Europe.
As we descend into New York, the skyline comes into view and you really do feel as if you are heading somewhere magical, even though you are only here for one brief moment in time, you are here. “Let’s not sleep at all,” says my older son, “Let’s go straight to Toys R Us.” This is the same son who had us dancing a conga around our house on New Year’s Eve, hooting and hollering, “Let’s Party,” with his orange crush high in the air. My husband and I know we are in trouble. For a brief moment, I think it just might be easier to give in to him. We could do it, another few hours wouldn’t kill us, but actually it might.
I hand my son his iPod and quietly explain that we still need to do a few things before we make our way to Times Square. He flails himself through the stanchions while we wait for passport control and runs from us in the baggage claim area when even a hint of, “we might not make it to Toys R Us,” slips into the air. We finally get our bags and take our first steps outside where the air is hot and muggy; we can’t quite figure out how to get to our hotel and our son can feel the dream slipping away. He starts heading off towards the taxi cabs and raises his hand, “Taxi!” His brother pulls him back, and I finally catch up with him and I promise him that we will go. With my fingers crossed behind my back.
We finally get to the hotel and he rushes us through breakfast, and up into our room; just before he settles in for his nap, he raises his beautiful little head and says: “One hour, that’s it!” He is the first of us to fall asleep, deeply. We wake later than anticipated, each minute that passes means that we have one more reason to cancel our attempt into the city. There are tears, recriminations and time outs; for me. I had to take a step back, this meant everything in the world to these two little boys. They love YouTube and their favourite you tubers had been to this Toys R Us, our boys knew where everything was because they had watched their virtual tour guides show them. We had to get there.
Except that my husband has a gigantic migraine, I have the worst sense of direction and of course, the children, they are ready to leave. Even the hotel staff aren’t sure, regardless of which way we go, if we will make it back on time for our connecting flight. They go through confusing routes that we could take on the trains; and also mention that we could also take a taxi. They call Jimmy and he picks us up in his black SUV and we feel like movie stars. He takes us into the city, waits for us and brings us back. The boys whizz through Toys R Us, each buying something small and knowing exactly where to find what they are looking for. They are not fazed when there is no time for the ferris wheel, nor time to wait in the ice cream line-up. They are happy just to have made it there, even briefly. Sometimes you just have to believe, that’s when drivers like Jimmy show up for you. That’s when the magic happens.
This is where Jimmy picked us up!
