For my 25th birthday I received two gifts that were about to change my life – in a small way at least. One was a luggage tag with a cute rendering of a spaceship from my mom. When I opened it I was a little surprised, I had thought it was a gift card since it was roughly the same size and I could feel it in the envelope. It also surprised me that she had given me a set of luggage tags with a rocketship on it…because, well, I was turning 25. Little did I know that it was a gift in tandem with my dad’s gift to me: a trip to Florida!I had been dying to get out to the Sunshine State ever since my best friend and first college roommate, Dianne, had moved there to pursue her career. Apparently someone in my family actually listened at our gatherings, because here I was with a ticket to Florida and a new bag tag for my luggage. I didn’t really care that Miami wasn’t even all that close to the Kennedy Space Center (which is what I think they
were going for with the whole rocketship thing), I would see it all during my trip. Maybe I’d even sneak over to the Harry Potter theme park if my friend was willing.
My biggest surprise was yet to appear. Once I deplaned, I waited for what seemed like ages for my bag to come ambling down the carousel towards me. The wait was made even longer by the fact that a very handsome man from my flight was standing a little too close to be a coincidence. When I picked up my bag he said, “so do you like space?” One of the weirdest, yet most effective lines I’ve ever heard. We talked and found out we were taking the same flight home! And now, as I approach 26, we are still dating. Best present ever, mom.
