Coffee Shop Diary — Day 3

a last minute flight

So today I’m not in a coffee shop. I’m in a bar. In the Philadelphia International airport. Like I said before, this year has been pretty wild and to top it off, I’ve made my second last-minute flight purchase in three months…probably irresponsible but I didn’t regret it last time and something tells me I won’t regret it this time.

So why the sudden urge to buy a flight to Kansas City and jump on the plan less than 18 hours later? An old friend’s father passed away and his comments on Facebook were a shocking reminder of just how important family is, and how much we take them for granted.

We move abroad on this big adventure (it’s not all exciting, but it’s an adventure none the less) and sometimes our priorities get mixed up. I moved to DC in June of 2009 and haven’t been home for Christmas since then.

In 2009, I was too broke to book a flight. I literally had no cash and was about $1,500 in debt on my credit card. It was the epitome of becoming an adult and realizing that life isn’t as easy as our parents made it out to be.

In 2010, I was the low man on the totem pole at a hospital and, well, hospitals never close so I was there on Christmas eve and then the day after Christmas. No time for going home. Plus, I was between apartments and couldn’t just leave all of my belongings floating around. I went home in January but it just wasn’t the same.

In December of 2011, I convinced myself that I was tight on cash. In reality, I think I just didn’t want to go home. I was in a new relationship and trying to be tough. It might have been the worst Christmas ever.

In 2012, I spent Christmas outside of Paris with my then-boyfriend. It was lovely…so lovely, that I think those memories with his family made me realize that I couldn’t repeat another year like that. Another year away from my family just because I had decided it was too expensive.

Some people are buying houses right now. I’m finishing a Master’s degree. And not a cheap one, to boot. But those dollars are worthless if I just ignore the things that matter most over the next few years of trying to make my career worth a damn.

Again, these writings aren’t supposed to wow you or convince you that I’m a great writer. They are merely a mechanism to get me back in the habit.

So here I am. In Philadelphia. About to board a flight to Kansas City. About to surprise my best friends and family. Fortunately they have no idea what Medium is….and if they came across this post in the next three hours, I think I would be more surprised that they discovered this than they will be to see me!

A demain.

-M