The Motherland

I need to begin this post by admitting to those who don't know me well that I am not the most outwardly emotional person, certainly not in public (shocker to some of you, I know). As I got comfy in my seat on my 2-hour journey to Merida, Mexico last Friday, little did I know I was going to have a very personal few moments shortly into our flight. As I sipped my cocktail looking out of the window, I noticed a beautiful coastline of turquoise blue water, sand and small towns dotting the landscape. It dawned on me, after a minute or so, that it was the northwestern coastline of the island of Cuba. Those of you that know me well know that my parents, older brother and sister fled the island in 1960 to escape the communist regime of Fidel Castro in search of a free and better life for their family.

Now, I am not about to get into the politics or the family drama of the past 56 years because it would take more than a blog post to cover all of that shit (better suited for another day) but this rarely emotional guy got a bit choked up. Understanding the journey I was currently on, and looking down on what seemed to be a beautiful and untouched island I couldn't help but think of not just my family but the thousands of families affected by what happened in the late 1950's and the current oppression of the Cuban people. Again, not going into the politics and personal opinions of myself and so many others, the few minutes we flew above the island I had heard so much about over the past 56 years brought tears to my eyes. Not sure exactly all the reasons why, but it did. Over the next few days and weeks, I’m sure I'll reflect on those few minutes and look inside myself and be ok with it being just a moment when the universe and the world around me said, stop, reflect and be grateful for all you have and all you've done and continue on YOUR journey in this wonderful world. I assure you; this typically non emotional Cuban is more than grateful!!