021704(originally occurred on December 27, 2003) "Do you see it?" Jake said to me as he turned away from the window. I leaned over as far as my seatbelt would allow, but it wasn�t enough. I shook my head at him and frowned. "Well, it�s there, really tiny on the horizon,� he assured me. I didn�t need Jake to tell me; I knew we were getting close. A combination of the flight attendants scurrying about, collecting garbage and raising seat backs, and houses on the ground doubling in size assured me we were not far from the tarmac. I looked over at my boyfriend. His face had been plastered to the window for most of the flight, so I'd managed to take in every minute detail of his sweatshirt. Every so often he'd turn to look at me, which would be accompanied by a beaming smile in my direction. It was adorable how excited he was. "Look!" was all I heard before Jake grabbed my arm and yanked me towards the window. I saw nothing but water until something odd caught my eye. It was green. It was on an island. It was�the Statue of Liberty. My heart skipped a beat and tears welled up in my eyes. For five months we'd planned this trip. We booked a flight and hotel at the end of July, so waiting was all we'd done. Even when I sat in the airport T.G.I. Friday's and enjoyed a pre-fight meal with Jake, it still didn't seem like we were going. Until now. It was only a couple of seconds before Lower Manhattan came into view, but it seemed like an eternity. I blinked once, twice, three times. I watched the statue until it completely vanished from my field of vision out the tiny airplane window. My eyes widened at the island covered in buildings. Sure, I'd seen it many times on television and in movies, but I had no idea it'd look like this. I picked out the Chrysler Building and wondered where Central Park was. I strained to see my first glimpse of a yellow taxi, but could barely make out roof tops. It didn't matter. We were here. I was here. I looked over at Jake and noticed he wasn't staring out the window anymore. I wondered how long he'd been watching me giddily squirm in my seat. My eyes darted from the window to Jake and back to the window. He laughed and gave my left hand a squeeze. "We made it,� he said. I nodded and smiled. We did indeed, I thought to myself.
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