Same city, different times

I walked around the streets of Taipei, the same streets I've frequented for years, the same streets I frequented when my mind was so filled with worry and woe, then later when my heart was heavy with grief and longing after the passing of dad and particularly mum. Now the streets are just streets, and I feel lighter, I feel as if I were just being, just breathing and walking.

No, the longing is still there, the memories at times still fresh and wells me up (tearing) , but less strong, less forceful now. Three years after mum's passing, I am standing, breathing, walking and wandering around the streets of Taipei like a different person now. It was , and it felt like, such a dream!

How this city has grown and matured with the years, how I have grown and moved forward throughout the years. The streets seem paved with memory... The restaurant next to the 228 Park where mum would take me after a long day at work (at the time in Shindian) and when it see me pointless to go home when dad wasn't even coming home (she had vouchers and could get the special meals, often fresh streamed fish or some other kind of home cooking... The plum tea shop at the corner of the street where she would always stop at on a hot day... The coffee shops where she and her cousin and good friend would sit and talk about their trips overseas... The camera shop where she would take me to to bargain and buy a camera (the last of which I lost on the plane a month or so after she bought me my last one back in 2010...)... The stores we frequented together, the places we walked side by side together. Dear mum, how I miss her still, and will continue to miss her for the rest of my life.

I walked around the park and a thought came to my head... I had this image of walking with my child, and having to stop for a moment to collect myself while I teared up telling my child how his/her grandma used to take me there as a child...

A long day that started at 530, and involved a trip from all the way down south to Taipei to meet up with relatives before heading to the mountains. The ceremony went smoothly, though not exactly as I expected. I had no where I could cook and make my special dishes for mum, so I had to make do and ask my aunt (her youngest sister) to step in and prepare the meals...