Running through the airport, my family was late to our flight from Pittsburgh to Cancun. I saw the bright-colored stands filled with sugary snacks and obnoxious magazines, wishing that I could stop, catch my breath and find something to entertain myself with on the flight. It felt like we were running a marathon and when we got to the terminal and I handed the stewardess my ticket I reached the finish line. The only problem was that all six of us did not finish, instead I watched as my dad’s ticket scanned and a green light showed on the screen and then all three of my brothers to follow, but not my mom's.

Previously that week my mom asked my dad if she would need her passport and my dad had insisted that “we were just going to Mexico” and all she needed was a simple license. My dad was a frequent flyer, going in and out of the country on business, so my mom thought he knew what he was talking about. She was surely mistaken! The stewardess explained to my mom that she might have been able to slip into Mexico with only a license, but she definitely would not be able to get out.

The solution, as another cheery airport attending told my mom, was to simply drive home and get either a passport or birth certificate and rush back in time to board our flight. But, another problem arose; my mom’s passport expired years prior and she was unsure of where her birth certificate was. I remember hearing the clicking sound of my mom’s French manicure against her glass iPhone screen as she angrily called my grandmother. Frustrated, she said, “Please tell me you have my birth certificate!” My grandmother uttered softly that she did not, and my mother sunk back into her chair and ended the call.

The next solution declared from a new airport attending was to just go to the hospital where she was born, fifty years ago, and ask for a new birth certificate. My mom explained that she was born in Baltimore and asked when the soonest flight was taking off. The attendant typed quickly into the keyboard as we all waited and stared anxiously at the computer screen. In the blink of an eye the attendant was rushing my mom and her luggage onto one of those loud airport golf carts with the flashing red lights because the soonest flight to Maryland was about to take off.

I cried incessantly, pleading to my dad that I needed to go with my mom, that I would not go to Mexico without her. My dad ignored my wishes, picked me up, and handed the stewardess all five of our tickets like nothing had even happened. Stepping onto the aircraft, I smelled what seemed like wet air, and when I sat in my seat my brother strapped in my buckle so tight I felt like I was about to go on a roller coaster. This was my first time on an airplane, and I remember anxiously kicking the seat in front of me until a man older than my dad turned around and gave me the most threatening look, signaling me to stop. My oldest brother passed around a pack of mint gum, telling all of us we needed to chew it or else our ears would hurt when we got to a certain altitude.
We arrived in Mexico, it was warm and the hotel was covered in beautiful crystal chandeliers, colorful walls, and marble stairs but I could not stop thinking of my mom. I still, excitedly pushed the button on the elevator, ran directly to our suite and claimed the place I was going to sleep. Because it was late, my dad quickly went to bed, my brothers Alex and Connor to follow. But, my brother Charlie and I waited for what felt like hours. Every couple of minutes I would walk around the room and poke my brothers to see how much I could get away until they woke up. I could not do that with my dad though, because he was hooked up to his sleep apnea machine with tubes protruding across the bed and waking him up would be something I would certainly regret.

Eventually, my mom walked through the door, giving both my brother and I a major feeling of relief. She was so touched that we stayed awake waiting for her that she decided to call down to room service and buy us both an ice cream sundae. Keep in mind, I was in Mexico, it was way past my bedtime and my family was finally together again so this was literally the cherry on top of what was going to be a great vacation.