I was dragged back and forth across the country when I was a young child.
At first it was because my mom’s Grandfather was dying in his home in the south.
I got on a plane with her for the actually first time when I was only several years aged and I was absolutely excited. But after he sadly passed away, the trips back and forth from the north to the south were now being motivated by my parents’ crumbling marriage. My mom would take my sibling and I to my Grandmother’s condo down south until my dad would wisen-up and beg her to come back. This back and forth thing happened twice before my mom finally had enough and gave my father an ultimatum that he was unable to fulfill. All of us eventually stayed down south, however the destruction was already done. I struggled to make friends when I would only stay in a single place for 6 months at most. On the a single hand, my friends were always impressed by my ability to withstand the moderately frigid southern temperatures in winter. Our winters up north are deadly, especially if you’re caught out in the snow with nothing to stay warm. People are found dead and frozen after falling in the snow or passing out the night before from intoxication. Getting used to temperatures like this made residing in the south a walk in the park. I didn’t know like I would die without heat if it was a mere 55 degrees outside… However, once the summer time heat waves set in I was sweltering as much as the next person.