Big City Living

Let’s NOT Have a Parade

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I am here to bring you the heartbreaking news that I have faced my worst disappointment of the year. All of my Thanksgiving hopes and dreams, stolen from me at the last moment. If you haven’t guessed it yet, you probably haven’t been following my blog for a full year. If you have been following me from the beginning, you know that the ultimate event of the year is THE Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I’ve watched it every year of my life, near or far, and the last two years, I was lucky enough to be in it.

Don’t believe I’ve written about it before? Here are some examples:

  • My sister’s parade debut: 2016
  • My Parade debut (with bro and sis): 2018
  • 2019 Breakfast Clown
  • Group of Diary of a Wimpy Kid Balloon
  • Group of Viking Clowns
  • Group of Breakfast Clowns

This year was going to be EXTRA special though, because I was supposed to be in it WITH MY SISTER. We are both Macy’s Parade FANATICS. Caps intentional. She was in the Parade’s 90th year in 2016! I was there in the grand stand watching and shouting her name, of course.

And this was going to be our year!! We were elated. A good friend of mine had a connection and got us in as float escorts. Did I mention I’d also have a friend in my group? First time ever to participate with people I knew! So many exclamation marks!! And now… nothing.

Let me rewind a bit. Of course, with Covid-19 still raging, I knew this Parade would be like no other Parade before it. We were invited to participate in early October, so we already knew there would be huge precautions including no real route or spectators, pre-recorded sections, all local participants, mandatory Covid testing and face covering… it was going to be a whole thing. But I was still excited. Can you imagine me telling my kids I was such a Parade Junkie that I marched in the one that was in the middle of a global health pandemic? I could. In fact, I did imagine it. Every day.

We’ve all had our share of disappointment this year. I had a lot of plans that were canceled. A trip to see my brother. A work trip to a military base in South Carolina. A trip to Copenhagen with my mom and brother. A trip to AUSTRALIA. I had plans to go to 15 new fitness studios in NYC and to see the NYC Ballet finally perform the Nutcracker. All of those hopes were dashed. Since March, I’ve tried to keep my expectations excruciatingly low for the year. My only hope now is to not get sick and not find out the winner of Great British Bakeoff by reading their darn Twitter spoilers.

But the Parade… I thought it was actually going to happen. Last week, we got our assignments emailed to us and I was going to be a Float Escort on the NY Life Float. I had set aside time in my work schedule to get my mandatory Covid test two days before the Parade. My 5:30 am alarm was set. And then I got the email.

  • Long explanation that says SORRY NOT SORRY.
  • Emial from the Executive Producer that was a day late, and I predict due to social media blowback.
  • F.M.L.

SORRY NO DICE. The email basically said they had to cut down participants even more, sorry. And they said our participation would be deferred to next year. However, I don’t believe that part for a few reasons I won’t go in to, but suffice it to say, that has not been the case in other scenarios. And to make matters worse, I can’t even WATCH the Parade! There are absolutely no spectators allowed. So despite the fact that I live on the Parade route, and that I was literally going to be in the Parade last week, now I will be watching it on TV alone at home and crying.

Which is a great segue for the next blog I’ll be releasing this week, one I have been meaning to write for 7 years: best places to cry in NYC. We’ll all be needing it this holiday season.

I have absolutely zero plans for Thanksgiving, but if you do, I hope you plan on celebrating safely and with members of your immediate household. Hopefully, I’ll be back next year with a more festive blog.

For now, here are some old photos through the years of Parade-watching. Check the captions for the years.

  • 1990 in the Grand Stand, My baby bro is in that bundle of blankets.
  • 2009, my bro and sis
  • 2009, my sis and me
  • 2012, calling my brother on the phone in Israel!
  • 2010 with my friend Lauren
  • 2016 with Charlotte, in line to get into the grand stand
  • 2016 in the grand stand!
  • 2018, with my sis, in the year between her parade appearance and mine!

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2 Comments

  1. Yes, yes, yes, I am absolutely as disappointed as you are. But as your sister Sarah and I confirmed, we will watch it together and stay on the phone with each other. We can plan to have one of you on the landline and one on my cell and it will ALMOST be like being together. Maybe, hopefully, fingers crossed, you both will be in the parade next year and I can be there in person to cheer you on. Let’s invite your brother Marc too!