Latresa Phillips
We all have that one cousin.
You know, the one that knows you better than anyone because you have shared your secrets with them, cried with them when they lost their favorite pet, kept certain information private “till death do you part,” and dreamed big dreams about seeing the world together one day.
Childhood memories and dreams often fade into the past as we grow up and begin adulting. Our lives become so busy and monotonous that we often forget to nurture the bonds that helped to make us who we are.
In June 2023, my “one” cousin that helped me survive my childhood and I had the opportunity of a lifetime. We lived out our childhood dreams and traveled to London, Paris and Italy together. It was a trip full of tired feet, swollen ankles, stuffed bellies and late-night talks.
I remember the treehouse in my grandparent’s yard that doubled as our “airplane” back in the day. Flash forward 50 years and here we were on a real plane. All the tea parties with pretend tea and crumpets were now being replaced with the real stuff.
All those Saturdays watching George Jetson and laughing about his face-to-face phone calls and robot maid have become our reality. We had a robot waiter serve us a meal in one of our hotels. We FaceTime’d parents, children and grands. We had our picture made in front of the Eiffel Tower, ate delicious food at the Tower of London and took pictures of every raven we could find. We toured the Vatican and laughed when we were told to be very quiet. We tried to replicate the statues and stand very still for a picture. We couldn’t help it. You know how cousins are when they get together. It seems like time has a way of taking you back to a different era when things were simpler when you get with that one person.
As we saw the Mona Lisa in Paris and shopped in the fine shoppes of Milan, we realized that time together and memories we had made in the past had made us the adults we are today. Just like the paintings and great sculptures of the European culture has preserved the fascinating remnants of their past, the scars and heart breaks of our childhood has made us the two, somewhat responsible adults we are today.
I highly recommend taking a trip with your first best friend. Angelia and I traveled 10,940.6 miles by planes, trains and automobiles, walked around five miles a day for 10 days; ate pizza in Italy; drank London Fog tea in London; and ate crepes in Paris.
I would say we came really close to making all those childhood dreams a reality. The dreams we missed are on the horizon.
Look out, world! Latresa and Angelia may have decided to conquer you – one country at a time.
Latresa Phillips is the contributing writer for The Graham Star. She can be reached via email, latresap26@gmail.com.