“Can we go see the pigeon?” the mob of dancers called out to no one in particular as they walked arm and arm down the streets of New York City.

We were heading back towards Grand Central Station after the girls’ performance. They were eager to see the city. Us moms were eager to head home.

One of the moms ok’ed the short trek to see the larger than life pigeon statue overlooking the city streets. I rolled my eyes. “Was this really necessary?” I guess it was better than heading to Times Square or The Jelly Cat Factory (I’m not even sure this exists)… some of the other requests.

When we finally made our way to the statue, our group of over 15 dancers and parents, the girls began taking selfies. We organized them enough to get a group shot and then another including the parents. After the group photos, the girls mingled, acting silly and snapping more photos.

As I looked around to begin herding them all together again, my eye on the prize, an earlier than expected train time, something at the base of the pigeon caught my eye. Was that a man down on one knee…proposing?

The dance group along with other tourists must have noticed around the same moment because there was a collective awwww and then clapping as the man stood to kiss his new fiancé.

We watched for a few more moments before moving along. The whole way back to the train was filled with recollections of the pigeon proposal.

I may have been dragging my feet to visit the pigeon, but in the end, I was glad we went. Curious about the pigeon and the proposal I turned to Google. The pigeon is not a popular proposal sight, which sparked some train ride conversation. “Maybe they’re bird lovers.” “Maybe she is a pigeon trainer.” Whatever the reason for the pigeon proposal, I’m glad we got to witness this moment.