Blame it on spring. I’m in the mood to talk about love, and the thought that keeps recurring to me is that I can’t imagine a better companion than the one I have, my wife Rebecca. That’s such a powerful assertion of good fortune, I’m a little in awe of it myself—and wonder if a wiser soul would leave the matter to quiet reflection (instead of sharing it with thousands of readers). But the fact is I like to share.
Rebecca and I will be married 16 years this June, and had three more years before that for prior discovery. We’ve shared so much of life, and yet what sustains us now is what’s always sustained us—an easy companionability strengthened by generosity and caring. Plus, the shared history has its own booster effect: I can’t imagine being with someone else because she is my life.
Lovers as parents, parents as partners—if this issue has a prevailing theme, that’s it. It’s the backbone of our cover feature on Rosie and Daron Pope, who nowadays do it all together, home life (four kids) and work life (a burgeoning empire that embraces maternity clothes and parenting support, and now a new line of baby clothes). Parents as partners is also a big part of the ethos of the notable NYC Dads, who, in five quick years, have transformed from a meet-up into a wonderful organization which ranges from New Dad Boot Camps to national advocacy for a progressive view of fatherhood.
There are other kinds of “treats” in the issue. For starters, I’d steer everyone to our family guide to the city’s top parks, and the wonderful ode to Aunties written by our blogger Lani Serota.
But after our long and relentlessly snowy winter, I’m still more inclined to enter spring with a focus on love.
Happy April!
Eric Messinger
Editor, emessinger@manhattanmedia.com
