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4.07.2010

i was wearing a cnn cap (you know the news network?).


spring skipped new york entirely today.

instead, summer arrived a few months too soon (or at least a few weeks).

but i was determined that zoobie and i would not stay cooped up in the apartment with the air conditioning whirling away. nor would we escape to the bookstore and the comfort of any even bigger central air system.

instead we would go in search of renegade breezes, neigh-neighs (horses), and a lolly-gagging afternoon walk. all to be found in central park.

but after walking, removing again and again our shoes and socks, traipsing up and down countless slides, we. were. pooped. any other day we would have still had some juice in us. but the warm air did us in. and we were ready for naps, both of us.

so i began a circuitous walk home. walking only where there was shade to be found. zoobie was nestled into the stroller a bit like a rag-doll--really back and in the corner. her cheeks were red and we were never far from an eye-rub or a yawn (universal sign of exhaustion). i had a lovely little sweat going. and was hiding behind my beloved red sunglasses and an orange cnn baseball cap.

it was around 80th street that it happened.

it's a funny thing with strollers. when you're pushing one, it's like your part of some club. and you suddenly look at all the other kids and you smile at them and then you smile at the parents and there is this mutual moment of understanding. and because i babysit, i'm an honorary member of said club on the days i take care of my eighteen-month-old-friend.

so back to 80th. i was pushing zoobie and there was another kid in a stroller coming toward us. pushed by their father. their cute father who took a look at zoobie and smiled and then looked at me and smiled, as if to say, cute kid--boy does she look wiped. and i smiled back as if to say, i know, i know. and somewhere in this .3 second exchange i though, oh huh. that's matt damon.

yes, that matt damon.

i'm just gonna thank the gods for that one.

it sure made the dry heat and sweat worth it.

(and i may have looked like a hot mess, but i bet that cnn cap made me look pretty erudite. {and hey, i'll take what i can get}).


20 comments:

Laura Marie said...

ahhh so cool!! only in new york, huh? :)

kate said...

shut your mouth. that's fantastic. :)

Elizabeth said...

jealous.

Molly Mouse said...

gotta love NY :D

Mary Dalrymple said...

wow!!!!! thats incredibly awesome!

AbbieBabble said...

A moment! With Matt Damon! !!!

p.s. I know exactly what you're talking about- the stroller-pusher club. I sometimes forget I'm not an honorary member anymore.

Meera said...

W-O-W !!

sydney with a y said...

awesome!!!

Fairfield said...

you should have slipped him my number meg.

iida said...

Okay, I was NOT expecting that twist. Wow!

A Sunday Kind Of Love said...

wow!!!! as IDA says, i was not expecting that! you lucky lady!!
i only ever see celebs in nyc, never over-seas (although my friends all ran into patrick dempsey once in paris and one of them asked him "oh, are you our tour guide?" he just smiled and said "your friends will tell you who i am later" HA!)

Emily said...

Ahaha that's the greatest story! What a fun surprise! I had an experience like that with Mr. Bean when I was walking down a street in Oxford, UK (sans children and strollers of course!)!

ruthpclark said...

How crazy! What a great story, CNN cap or no CNN cap.

I know what you mean about feeling like an honorary member of the stroller club. The other day when I was babysitting, I took the kids to karate class, watching the older one and rocking the baby in the stroller. One father asked which child was mine, and one mother smiled and pointed to the diaper bag, excited that we had the same one. I'm almost positive these people would never have been so friendly had I been stroller-less.

Erin Cox said...

Lucky girl!!! I wish my celeb sightings were that exciting.

Best i've gotten is a small conversation with Adam Sandler on the beach, or a pen exchange in the airport with Kanye West.

But Matt Damon... that takes the cake!!

Brittan said...

that is so cool! there are plenty of nyc celeb stories, but that one is genuinely sweet and special.

Cindy said...

Holy poop! And he's so cute when he's being a dad.

Le sigh.

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Raquel said...

amazing story!

Cassie said...

lucky duck!

Claire Kiefer said...

What an awesome story!