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I never thought it would be a luxury to take the children to parks, zoos, and museums. But one day it happened. Since the pandemic started, we hadn’t been to any such places. We all longed for the spring of 2019.

My daughters and I took a beautiful trip to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden during that time. The memories of our amazing experience have remained in our heads through the pandemic.

That day, we woke up early and had breakfast. Then we took the train to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. When we arrived, I bought the girls their favorite ice cream, and we lined up to get in. It was crowded that day. We were all very excited. That was the first time we ever went to the Botanic Garden. We kept saying, “Wow, that’s so beautiful!” It was cherry blossom season, so we saw different kinds of cherry blossoms, some in various shades of pink and others white as snow. They danced like graceful dancers in the sunshine. 

We walked around in the garden. Every corner was beautiful. The air was sweet as sugar. When we came to a small hill, we saw a huge tree with a big xylophone under it. My youngest daughter made up her own song and played it on the giant instrument. We all sat under a tree and had a good time.

That day, we took countless photos in every corner. We laughed the whole time. My daughters asked if we could return to this wonderful place, and I responded that surely we would.

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Zhen (Jenny) Lin, originally from China, has been living in New York for over 10 years. She is the mother of three girls, whom she loves very much. In her spare time, she likes listening to music. She wants to speak English fluently one day, and to never stop learning. Annette Reives is her teacher at the Family Health Centers of NYU Langone. John Kefalas is the site coordinator.