I’ve always thought about flying home and surprising my family. We live about 3,000 miles apart and it’s difficult to travel home often. A few months ago, my sister had the bright idea to buy plane tickets to surprise our mom for her birthday weekend. So, we bought tickets. We covered our tracks, called our parents and told them we were laying down for bed, when in reality, we were at the airport and getting ready to fly to California.
We were SO excited. We arrived at our gate early enough to grab a snack and relax before boarding our flight. Then, travel issues. Time passed way past our boarding time when an announcement flowed through the overhead speakers: “An emergency light was broken in the cabin and all passengers needed to wait until the necessary part was flown in from Florida.” My internal rage ensued while my sister called the airlines so we could scoop up the very next flight to Chicago, then catch another flight to CA. Turns out, the airline was willing to pay for a night in a hotel in Chicago for us, which was super helpful seeing as we spent most of the night in an airport then would spend all early morning in another. We were able to sleep for a few hours, then we continued our journey home.
Our aunt agreed to be our pickup at the airport, which was so nice because we hadn’t seen her in ages! The hour long ride to our house was tedious. My sister and I were nearly jumping out of our seats ready to see our parents. Finally, we arrived at our house and my sister used her house key to “quietly” let us in without our parents knowing. Little did we know, our dad was already up and heard someone jiggling the door knob. His face of shock is one I’ll never forget. We all hugged and jumped around, then raced up the stairs to surprise our mom. She was still laying in bed and rubbed her eyes as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. It was such a fun moment watching her realize her daughters were right in front of her.
We spent the short weekend catching up and enjoying time with family. It was a sad moment when we finally had to pack our bags back up and head to VA. Later that night, I had the strangest feeling knowing I was in another state with my parents just hours earlier. Homesickness will hit you hard when you least expect it. I don’t know when I’ll next see them, but I sure do hope it’s soon.
Te amo mamá y papá
Dreams of Bold 