du la nostalgie

and sometimes you close your eyes and see the place where you used to live, when you were young.

I really like that line from the song, it gives me goosebumps every time.
I suppose it's because I have closed my eyes and remembered exactly where things used to be, where people used to live, and who was always there. But it seems like each time I visit New York, I get a shock of reality.

I generally stay at my aunt's house in Queens when I visit. Before it was my aunt's house, it was my grandmother's, and before we moved here we lived across the street from my grandmother's home. Hence, every time I stay at my aunt's house, I'm across the street from where I used to live.

I see the changes the family who moved in made to the house: the unnecessary iron gate they put up around the house, the driveway they remodeled, the rose garden they replaced with multiple potted plants.

Each time I go back, I make it a point to visit my former neighbors who I consider to be my third set of grandparents. Each time I'm about to leave their house Alexander (the man) says to me, "Boy, you guys were the best neighbors we ever had. I sure wish you had stuck around and I could have seen you girls more often." And Rosemary (the lady) adds on "Don't be strangers now!" as she's hugging and kissing us goodbye.


You see that park in the background, I used to play there, every week. And that table where the old men are playing chess, my grandfather used to play chess there.

My favorite part of it all was the swings in the back (you can't really see those in the picture) but that's where my mom met a woman who had a daughter my age named Elena. We became really good friends as a result, and I actually still talk to her today, it's nice.

Her birthday was earlier this week, that's why I'm remembering all this. I called her and we had a pleasant conversation, it was a trip down memory lane. It was as if nothing had ever changed.