Mr. Nielson and I have been back east to New York City several times
since we moved from New Jersey in 2006, but we have never
been back to our town of East Brunswick.
This trip, we made it happen!
We drove the familiar roads, freeways, and side roads
until we made it into our neighborhood.
Then I felt emotional and cried.
The house and neighborhood look about the same.
We found our little yellow house and parked
around the corner so we could walk up to it and not look creepy.
I felt the familiar love for the neighborhood and the rectangle house.
My mind was flooded with memories!
I saw the streets I walked when I was in labor with Oliver.
I saw the window to my bedroom where Oliver was born.
I saw the front lawn where I planted flowers, had picnics, and
where the girls and I caught lightning bugs in the humid summers.
I saw the windows that Mr. Nielson installed when we remodeled the back bedroom.
I saw where we discovered a cesspool in the backyard
and the front door that Christian painted (still red!).
I wandered up the driveway where the little girls would
run up and down barefoot for hours with princess dresses on.
And best of all, our neighbors across the street still had the GOOSE!!
She looked healthy and happy and dressed!!
We also visited Colgate-Palmolive, where Christian worked,
and drove to South Amboy, where my dear friend Aimee still lives!
I totally remembered precisely how to get to her house. Amazing.
After spending all day in New Jersey, Mr. Nielson and I took the train back to NYC
to our hotel room. On the train, we talked about our life in New Jersey years ago.
We talked about the hard, overwhelming, and happy times and
laughed at the funny things that happened to us daily.
I am so thankful for those experiences.
