My parents always picked the worst flights, I would have to leave my house at 4:00 am to make my 5:30 am flight
I usually make the same mistake every time and buy a coffee before take-off
Just to be restless in an uncomfortable seat with the ambience of babies crying and people refusing to put their masks on
I complained to my friends all week about going back home for break but I was secretly excited
I had an excuse to do nothing since my parents just moved to a new area where I wasn’t even slightly familiar with
I would arrive in Sarasota exhausted at 8:00am, knowing the day is just beginning
Knowing the month is just beginning of dealing with my parents
I already was dreading being here, although Florida being the Sunshine State made me optimistic
I imagined myself soaking up the sun by our new pool that I always wished I had growing up
Ever so softly dipping my feet into the freezing water and deciding for the fifth time that week that it wasn’t “hot enough outside” to go in
I would sit outside for hours watching the sun shadow slowly go over the pool throughout the day
And eventually there would be no sun shining onto the pool to heat it up
After that I would get bored enough to go inside and sit in my bed
Weeks passed of me continuing this somber cycle until one day I decided I wasn’t going to let the weather stop me
Of course it had to be one of the coldest days of the month
Feet first, I emerged into the pool feeling goosebumps slowly cover my body
I swam for about 3 minutes before I decided that this was just as boring as tanning outside of the pool
I sat outside in the towel waiting to dry so I didn’t soak our new kitchen floor
I missed my actual home, although I didn’t quite know exactly where that was
I’ve moved around my whole life but in the same area being Long Island
I missed being a ten-minute walk from a lonely beach I could sneak to
And I also missed sitting in my dorm writing short stories on laptop as I stare out of my window wishing it were warm
The month flew by faster than I anticipated and soon I was on a flight back to Buffalo
My parents always chose the worst flights, I had to leave my house at 8:00pm to not even arrive back till 12:30 am
I threw my suitcase on my dusty floor and laid in my miniature dorm bed wishing I could bring pieces of my parent’s house with me
I told my friends how excited I was to see them all week but I secretly knew I already missed Florida