Leaving the cold for the Sunshine

 

 

 When I heard Mum and Dad talking in the kitchen, their voices light with excitement, I knew the day had finally arrived. The house was still cold, the kind that clings to the walls in the early morning, but it hardly mattered. We were leaving for our favourite place of sunshine — Florida.

 

Sitting in the living room with all the cases around us, we hear the sound of the taxi outside. We get everything together and go out to the taxi. The cold morning air hits us, but today it doesn’t matter. We know we are starting our holiday.

 

Waiting for check-in to open, I sit in my wheelchair and look around me. It is such a busy place, and I wonder where everyone is going.

 

Once we get through check-in and security, the smell of duty-free hits me, and I feel even more excited.

 Walking through duty-free under the bright lights, the air is thick with perfume. Bottles line the shelves in neat rows. I slow down beside the familiar scent of Lady Million, the one I always reach for, before moving on again.

 

Walking through the busy airport towards the gate, I feel more excited as I see so many airplanes. I watch them move across the runway and think about all the different journeys starting at the same time.

 

  Waiting at the gate, I see the big TUI airplane and notice how many people are arriving for the same flight. When the announcement calls our family forward, the excitement builds even more.

 

 At the door of the airplane, as Dad gets ready to lift me on board, I say goodbye to my wheelchair. I’ll see it again in Florida.

Getting comfortable on the airplane, I watch everyone boarding. I hear the pilot welcoming everyone on board and talking us through the flight details. It feels almost time to go.

 As I hear the doors of the airplane closing and feel it begin to move, I look out of the window. Everything outside is wet and grey. I say goodbye to cold, rainy Glasgow, knowing I will see it again in two weeks

Nine hours have passed, and I am starting to feel uncomfortable and miss my wheelchair. When I hear the pilot announce that we are ten minutes from landing, I feel a sense of relief that it is almost time to feel the warm sunshine.

 

 When I hear the wheels of the airplane hit the runway and see the bright sun outside, the excitement builds again.

 

 Once we collect our cases and I am settled back into my wheelchair, we make our way through the airport.

 

 As the doors slide open, warm air wraps around us. Palm trees stand tall against the clear sky.

 

 We have made it — from cold to sunshine.

 

Written by Jill