The Dreamer’s Blog

February 26, 2024

Family First

Dear reader, welcome back! As I tried to figure out what to blog about this week, I immediately thought of family. Family is the very foundation of Dudley’s Dream Vacations. I grew up in an environment where family meant a close, tight-knit bond. My grandmother wouldn’t accept anything contrary to this. As a family, we were taught to always be there for one another, celebrate each other’s accomplishments, and most of all, LOVE each other. We were taught that FAMILY comes FIRST. I can recall many times I’ve had to use this motto. Times where I did not want to let a family member down. I am the family member that does my best to be there for the most important moments in someone’s life. Especially when I know they need it the most. Thus, our story today begins…

June of 2023. My little brother was due to graduate from high school. For the people reading this that live outside of the USA, he completed his last year of traditional schooling (year 12). He asked me around March of that year would I be attending his graduation ceremony. Without hesitation, I told him yes, I would. The importance of my yes in this particular situation is that we had grown up very close. In a way, my little brothers needed me, and I needed them. There was no way I could be comfortable with myself missing such a significant moment in his life. The time came close for the graduation and I had a choice to make. I usually drive back home to Philadelphia, but this time I decided I will fly. I have been taking road trips back and forth to Philly for the last couple of years, so I wanted something different. That’s great right? Well…

The day came to catch my flight. I decided to grab a late flight due to me having to work that day. The plan was to leave work and head straight for the airport. The flight was due to take off at 9:07pm. So far, everything went according to plan. I had arrived at the airport and found a place to park. The parking, was a little hectic but nevertheless, I made it in enough time to catch a shuttle to the main terminal. Once arriving to the terminal, I did the usual check in and security through TSA. I want to give a major shout out to the staff at RDU! Each time I have flown from there it has been a breeze. I made my way through the terminal and found my gate. I grabbed a bite to eat and a drink from Starbucks. Again, so far everything was going well.

Then I saw my plane. It pulled up to the gate to deplane the current load of passengers. As we all eagerly awaited to board, an announcement was made. To our frustration, boarding was delayed by 30 mins. Not so bad, right? 45 mins went by before another announcement was made. This time it was announced that we would be boarding at 11:30pm. Our original departure time was 9:07. I patiently, and annoyingly waited. Midnight approached and we were told “We have to fly in a crew from Philadelphia, to come and take you all to Philadelphia”. This is where I began to lose hope. After sitting around and trying my best to stay awake, an announcement came around 1:12am that the flight was cancelled and the next flight would not be until 10am the next morning. This would mean I would not make the graduation in time. So, I had a choice. I did not want to disappoint my little brother because I gave him my word. I did what I thought was best. I hopped in my car, and started my journey towards Philadelphia. The irony here is that I booked the flight so that I would not have to drive, and I ended up driving anyway!

Thanks to a 5 hour energy purchased from Wawa (I love and miss you Wawa), I made it. I arrived to Philadelphia around 7:30 that morning. I was tired, annoyed, irritable, and excited all at the same time. At the time of arrival to Philadelphia, I had been awake for 24 full hours. Can you believe I drove for 7 hours straight after going through all of that?

After arriving to my aunt’s house, I went to sleep for about 3 hours. The time came to go to his graduation. Once I heard his name called, everything that I went through leading up this moment became worth it. I got to watch the little boy whom I remember being just born, walk across the stage to start a new chapter of his life. Nothing meant more to me at that time than being present in that moment. I know my grandmother was smiling down on him that day! I hope that she also would smile upon the fact that I remembered to put Family First…

-KD
Dudley’s Dream Vacations
Making Your Travel Dreams Come True!