We grew up in the frigid north.
While other people only had to experience a few months of snow, it felt like an eternity for us.
Our parents had been born and brought up in the area. But, they always harbored a dream of moving somewhere warm and lovely one day. Once we had all left the house, we went our separate ways, and I ended up in Santa Barbara. I had started a small business and was fortunate enough to land a massive investor in the city. The company grew, and I also got a chance to fall in love with this lovely place. One thing that held my heart was that it was warm and marijuana was legal, so I could buy some cannabis oil at the local dispensaries. I even got to fly my siblings and parents over for the holidays, and they all saw why this was a fantastic place. Mom and dad expressed that this was the location they had dreamt of living all their lives. So, my siblings and I decided to make their dreams come true. We feigned one of us was not doing well, and they had to fly to Santa Barbara immediately. All the while not knowing we had found a lovely new house which we bought. When they arrived at the airport, I took them to the house instead of my place. I lied. I had recently moved but then told them, “welcome to your new home” when we pulled up the driveway. Mom and dad were blown away and could not believe we had made their dream come true.