For many years, my mom has had the same picture frame mounted on one of her bedroom walls— an art piece of golden trees arching over a pathway of what looks like an entrance to a park. Ever since she put that frame up, she would always tell me how she has dreamed of visiting a location that looked just like it. Ever since she’s spoken those words to me, I’ve carried it along with me knowing it would become a reality one day.
If I can tell you something about my mother, it would be that she is a person who truly deserves everything the world has to offer. From raising 3 children, being an attentive wife, and making sure everyone who’s close to her is loved and supported, I can say she is one of the most selfless people I have ever met. I can assure you that there is no other person that I know that can amount to how much my mom had to go through over the years and yet still remained firm and diligent in all that she does.
To say the least, she’s more than amazing, and I hope to be just like her when I myself become a mother.
Over the years, I have gone through a phase in my life where I just want to explore and discover new areas. As a matter of fact, I always considered moving someplace else because I don’t feel as if Miami is the place for me anymore. My mom is fully aware of this, and throughout my many adventures of traveling to different places, North Carolina has always had a special place in my heart.
I decided to book a trip back to NC as a surprise for my mom to finally see the fall colors she’s always wanted to see. Due to her busy schedule and all that she does outside of work, she’s never had the opportunity to go experience what it would be like to see autumn in a place outside of Miami. It’s been something she’s wanted for several years, and out of gratitude of all she’s done for me, I felt it was only right to honor her in a way that would seem like a whispered dream of hers come true.
On the day of our flight to Charlotte, NC, my mom was super giddy knowing she was about to see something she’s never seen before. Just seeing her reaction every time our plane approached our destination filled my heart with so much joy because I myself felt exactly what she was feeling. To her she would experience something new, but as for me it felt as if I was returning to what feels would be my future home. We started off our day going to a local breakfast spot and began conversing on what this trip would embark. While my mom spoke to me about what she would like to see, I had a lot of things pre-planned just for her.
During our ride through the city, my mom would gasp at how beautiful the different colors the trees’ leaves were. Her smile was so big that she herself couldn’t believe what she was looking at. We managed to stop by a CVS to grab a few essentials when we spotted a bright orange tree that caught both of our eyes. My mom is usually the type to just take a picture and move on when she saw something she liked, but instead she went up to the tree and touched one of the leaves as if she wouldn’t believe it was true unless she physically felt it. To see her do that made me want to cry because even such a small moment like that demonstrated how appreciative she was for the little things.