Back in the day....

Although I'm extremely grateful for the present, the love, and the many blessings in my life today, this one is for the good ol' days. 

This is for playing hopscotch and for being the only Puerto Rican girl that could double dutch in my hood.

This is for having imaginary friends, like Hecenito. 

This is for Jerry Rivera's Cara De Niño and Das Efx's They Want EfX.

For Mr. softee cones, piraguas, and coco-mango-cherry ices. This is for every time I got on my brother Ray's nerve following him around. This is for Easter Sunday's at the "machinas" (a.k.a the carnival).

This is for every time I scraped my knee falling off my bike or for riding one of Mahogany's rollerblades while she rode the other one. 

This is for playing "skip it" and for getting wet in the "Pompa". 

This is for that one time Mahogany and I took a ride in a jeep with our older sisters, Karen and Emily.  The breeze through our hair and the music in our ears had us feeling so dope.  

This is for spending all of our money playing street fighter, Atari, and Ms. Pacman in Yogi's "Candy store". Even though they ran numbers and God knows what else there, that was our Chuck E. Cheese. 

This is for Calvin's "Yogi Yogi has no teeth" song that had Mahogany and I in tears! And for Lil Vicious and Doug E. Fresh's Freaks. This is for the time Mary freaked the boy at that house party dancing to that same song. Before she discovered crack, she was one of the baddest in the hood. 

This is for big boom boxes, tapes, walkmans, and recording your favorite jams from the radio. This is for rewinding and playing any song repeatedly, so you could write the lyrics down on paper and memorize it.  

This is for watching the Cosby Show, Fresh Prince, Full House, Family Matters, Growing Pains, Saved by the Bell, and Hanging with Mr. cooper.  This is also for listening to Brandy and Mariah Carey, and watching Dirty Dancing over and over again.

This is for the best Christmas holidays with the family: When we banged on pots and went through the halls in "parandas". This is for crying on New Year's Eve even though we were too young to have anything to cry about.  

This is for breaking night, chilling on stoops, playing spades with our friends, while the old men yelled "capicu!" over their domino table.  

This is for borrowing milk crates from Raymond's bodega so we can sit, listen to the guys, and watch them drink 40's and Old E's, but not before they pour a little out for the dead homies.

This is for man hunt, kick the can, and Te Lo Monto.

This is for taking pictures in films that never got developed. 

This is for Jordans, Puff Daddy and the Family’s, No Way Out, and Skate Key on Fridays.  This is for every time I did the Heel Toe.

This is for booty tag and first kisses.  For my first real make out, with David, at Skate Key.  How classy.  

This is for throwing Parties in Titi's house without her knowing.  For the Blind Man’s Bluff game and hiding behind the Christmas tree.  

This is for the night Kayla, Jelitza, and I had a water fight while Glory slept and woke her up by dragging her out of her bed and wetting her.  As If that's not bad enough, we also went to bed and let her clean up our mess.  I still want to say sorry to her.  

This is for high school days, sharing clothes with our friends, parties, get togethers, recording ourselves while we fake danced like strippers, playing Jenga, dancing Palo with the Dominicans, playing speed punks, and listening to Hot 97 mix cd's, jamming to Jaheim.  This is for every time we sent Natalia to the liquor store because she looked the oldest.  

This is for the time Mahogany found 40 dollars in a birthday card and treated me to a nice day out.  

This is for shooting pool and movie theatre dates.  This is for the many nights we spent at the bowling alley on 161st street.  

This is for Dawson's creek.  This is for Joey picking Pacey.  

This is for all the times that I thought were not important and as it turns out they were the best times of my life.  

This is for those times and those memories that I wrap myself in when the world feels cold and I feel alone.  

We grow up, we "move up", we do better, but there's nothing like those simple times…those times when we kicked it with our friends, felt the breeze, had a quarter water, and a great big laugh.