The Trip

At age 35, most people think that life is pretty much over. For me, life has just begun. Going back to school in your 30’s is mind boggling for sure. I work a full time job and I’m currently raising four teenagers. My second oldest graduated this year and is looking forward to, and preparing for his new journey in life. I decided to go back to school because I still have a dream too! I love to travel and learn new things. When I graduate, I’m enlisting in the military. I want to grow, become more educated, travel the world, and learn to be more disciplined. Physically and mentally I’m strong. My children have molded me into the strong determined woman I am today.

I feel each day like I’m living everyone’s dream. Being able to bare children, and raise them to be successful. I work hard each day at my job that I’m fortunate enough to have. Not one day goes by that I wish to change a thing. My kids and I go on trips often. The beach is where we all find the most peace. We ride the waves and enjoy making videos on the beach. I take my children hiking in the mountains and we take long road trips to Ohio. Ohio is where my family is from. Sometimes I take my children to South Of The Border where we take pictures and kick back. We buy fireworks, and dine in at our favorite restaurant The Hot Tamale.

On our most recent adventure, we took a trip home to Lorain, Ohio from Lumberton, North Carolina. This was a long trip, but well worth the drive. We took this trip to be a part of my second cousin’s Quince. This day was so amazing! My little cousin looked so beautiful in her turquoise dress. She was presented with many gifts from family. One being tickets to see Bad Bunny in Canada next year. She cried in amazement as she didn’t expect such a gift. It was one of the most pleasant experiences of my life considering my children and myself had never been to a Quinceanera. The DJ was amazing and made her day one to remember. My children had a really great time.

Another amazing point about our trip was, I took my children to Cascade Park located in Elyria, Ohio. This park is most definitely one of a kind. We hiked through many trail’s in tremendous heat. I was able to capture my kids and I separately in front of the beautiful Waterfall. This park, changed so much since I was a child. The upgrade was absolutely marvelous! After the first hike, we had to leave to purchase bottles of water. It was a scorcher that day beyond measure. Later on that day, we met up with my cousin and his family at his mothers house. She cooked her famous Puerto Rican soup and it was delicious. After eating, we all met up at K-Cream Corner for ice cream. This place has the most amazing ice cream I’ve ever tasted.

As our trip came to an end, we made our way to my uncle Eric and aunt Paula’s house. This day was so amazing. My closest cousin Ej taught my daughter how to ride a skateboard for the first time. She was so stoked, and was taken by the time he invested in her. My cousin even broke down and gave her one of his favorite skate boards that he customized himself. He taught her so many tricks and she wasn’t even afraid of falling. They pretty much skated the whole night until it began raining. We all ended up meeting inside the house for dinner. I for once felt at peace because I was finally where I wanted to be, with family. My aunt and uncle expressed greatly how they wished we’d move back home.

We finally got ready to call it a night and head out, and my aunt began to scream! Omg! Luka and Greta are gone! My uncle began to shriek. Where are they Paula? One of the German Shepherds had opened the garage door with the push button, and they had gotten out. My aunt had been training Luka and Greta to come when she squeezed the ball. When it squeaked, Greta came running and we all screamed, omg noooooo! A transfer truck had struck Greta and killed her on impact. My uncle began to cry, and all I could do was scream from a distance to our children, stay over there! Don’t come over here! My uncle began to cry, and at that moment I felt helpless. My aunt Paula dropped to her knees, “ I can’t believe she’s gone”. It was a tragic evening. Even now I think about that night, and how awful it was. That night I barely slept, and in a sense I felt traumatized.

After seeing family, and taking my kids on several adventures, our trip ended peacefully. We made our rounds to visit all of our family before we left. My grandmother’s house was our first stop, as she always likes to be the one to feed us. And her food is always the best, but I’ll never tell any of my family members that one’s food is better than the others. She grabbed cookies, pop corn, and snacks for us to take on our road trip back home. The worst part about our trip back home to North Carolina, is saying goodbye. And I know as they do that it could be months or even a year before I see them again. We finally made it to our destination. A ten hour trip back home, but I wouldn’t trade that drive nor that vacation for nothing in this world. To sum things up, going back to school is only as hard as you make it, and you can achieve any goal you set forth. As you see, I work, and take trips with my children. Here I am writing about all my fun times with my kids, and me, soon to graduate at thirty five years old.