My daughter Sara and I have always been close, and now that she has her own family it’s rare to get one-on-one time. We get together often with our partners and her two adorable small children. Sunday dinners and riverside hikes are fragmented with snatched conversations in between shouts of “Nana, come play with me.” During COVID-19 we dreamed of an escape to an island together. As we both have a love for the Caribbean, Barbados was calling and we finally answered, eventually making a plan for a seven-night getaway.
On the day we were leaving, my daughter had stayed overnight at my house and we were both feeling a bit groggy and apprehensive about the journey ahead. Our dance started during our 4am breakfast while chatting about our seat assignments on the plane, which had another passenger between us. I said, “I’ll ask them to change seats, which would be in their best interest or we’ll be chatting over their head."
“Mum, don’t explain why, just ask,” Sara replied firmly.
And so our trip began. Our charming seat mate jumped at the opportunity for an aisle seat, and was eager to share local intel of his home island. At one point we all laughed as I expressed remorse that I hadn’t packed an extra sandwich for him. “Oh, Mum,” he said to me, “just give me half of yours.”
We were warmly ushered into the O2 resort with welcome drinks as we checked in. After touring the property, Sara and I changed quickly and headed to Brisa, a bar on the eighth floor. “Can you believe that we’re finally here?” she said.
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