Reunited

Two years and one month or 752 days…that is the total number of days it had been since I’d held my mother and she was able to squeeze me and her adoring grandchildren. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, my mother moved back from London in 2010. She longed to be home and closer to her children and family. She returned to settle in a small town outside of Ocho Rios. When we lived in Florida, we made it a priority to visit as a family a few times a year. We would hop on a quick, budget-friendly flight which always led us to quality time with Mum/Nana, beautiful beaches, authentic Caribbean cuisine/culture and the opportunity to simply slow down.

Prior to the onset of the pandemic, we’d booked our trip and planned to spend the kids’ 2020 Spring Break in Jamaica. Then COVID hit…Jamaica announced the temporary closure of its borders as a precautionary measure, and just like that, our last vacation before the “Big Move” to Arizona was postponed until an undetermined date. The plague continued for all of us but in the spring of 2021, we finally felt it was safe enough for us to rebook our travel plans for July 2021. My sister and her family had even made arrangements to meet us there. Unfortunately, the children’s and my passports had expired in the interim. And, despite sending off everything and paying for expedited processing, in what ordinarily would have been plenty of time, our renewed passports did not arrive in time for our July travel dates.

Explaining that we were not going on vacation AGAIN to a four and six year-old was not something we could bring ourselves to do. So, with our lemons, we “made lemonade” and quickly coordinated a mini staycation at a nearby hotel (hotel/resort/vacation are synonyms to our children). And, over the course of a few days, we enjoyed a local aquatic center, caught the latest Baby Boss movie in an IMAX theater, visited Encanto Park, LEGOLAND, Sea Life Arizona Aquarium, and dined at a variety of new local restaurants. We were not where we’d expected to be, but we were grateful to be in a position to still be able to enjoy each other and new experiences. We and the children were happy to still have Jamaica to look forward to, even if we weren’t sure when that would come to fruition.

Uncertain if the passports would arrive before the new school year started, we opted to rebook for the week of Labor Day to minimize the amount of in-person school the kids would miss. My passport was the last to arrive and came in on September 1^st, just in time for our departure on the night of September 3^rd.

Travel to our long-awaited destination went pretty smoothly. We left just before midnight; the kids slept through both flights (no direct flights available, but the layover in Charlotte was reasonable) and we arrived on the island around 10:30 AM. We retrieved our bags, cleared Immigration/Customs, and rushed out to meet Mum. The embrace was like putting in the last piece of a puzzle; we fit together perfectly and we felt complete. Though I/we FaceTime with Mum/Nana at least weekly, there is nothing equivalent to sharing the company of the ones you love and long to see and touch. In that moment, we felt warmth in the midst of the cool island breeze—nothing else mattered and there was no place else I/we wanted to be.

The 3^rd row crossover was loaded with our luggage, we were seated comfortably and exclusively in the company of the cold A/C and our reunited little family...and it felt sooooo good! We enjoyed some of our favorite treats on the scenic 45-minute drive up the coast to our resort in Runaway Bay. At the special request of Telaiyah and Elijah, Mum picked-up fresh, hot Jamaican beef patties, coco bread and a variety of fresh juices so that we did not have to stop on the way. We talked and laughed the entire time with the children commenting on the goats on the side of the road and counting the various hues of blue they saw in the sea to our immediate left. Even though I was tired after having just completed the long haul to get there, I already began to feel relaxed and refreshed.

We arrived at the resort and the next eight days were lovely! Some of our most memorable experiences during this Jamaican vacation include:

• Surprising my mom with a visit from her closest friend of 30 years (Aunty Jackie lives in Florida and joined us for six days - happy tears, long hugs and longer conversations)
• Savoring the breathtaking, white sand, and uncrowded beaches (we are Floridians, we LOVE the beach)
• Kayaking with the kids in crystal clear water (their first time)
• Visiting my Aunt Icey and her daughter, Angie (pictured below wearing a mask, Aunt Icey is in her late eighties and I had not seen her since high school while on my last trip with my grandmother)
• Dining at an Hibachi restaurant with the kids (their first time and they thought the chef’s show was amazing and even ate their vegetables with no fuss)
• Enjoying a show of synchronized swimmers and dancers from Brazil (very unique and entertaining)
• Venturing into an authentic local market with the kids (their first time and not where the tourists go to buy souvenirs – my Aunt was on a mission to find and buy a locally made Dutch pot and a few spices)
• Reading and sharing two fictional novels I highly recommend by Kerry Young (Pao and Gloria)
• Getting seven consecutive nights of uninterrupted sleep (Telaiyah typically wakes us nightly – but they slept in Nana’s room and if she awoke, Nana put her back to sleep)
• And in continuation of the theme that things don’t always go as planned… I got stung by a wasp on my cheek (not on my face - lol) and I lost my retainers in the Caribbean sea

Despite the time and delays it took our family to get back to visit my mom in Jamaica and amidst all the loneliness, sadness and chaos in the world, we count ourselves blessed. We are blessed in so many ways…to have each other and our health, the means to travel and to share these experiences with our family. We continue to be grateful.

-Solitaire Dasher-Smiley, October 2021