My mom recently accompanied me on a trip to complete one of my creative endeavors. Sometimes the timing and the situation align perfectly, and life hands over the gift of an amazing experience. And that’s exactly what happened in this case.
My flight was originally booked for the morning after my stepfather tragically left this earth. In the weeks and months that followed my family’s loss, rescheduling the trip was the last thing on my mind.
Fast forward five months, and my mom and I were both ready to take a step forward and shake things up a little. Plus, I still wanted to fulfill my obligation, and the combination worked out perfectly as my mom was now able to join me. It felt serendipitous.
We had such a great time! We talked, we laughed, we explored. I couldn’t help but marvel at how similar we are.
The way we both laugh our way out of ridiculous situations, the way strangers give us their life stories, and the way we both find such joy and gratitude in the little things.
This trip was reminiscent of the many times my mom and I have found ourselves traveling together, vacations while I was growing up, the 10-day trip to Italy she took me on when I turned 30, and all the time we spent together when she would fly across the country to visit me in college.
Since I became a mom, I often see my mom with my own children. She’s Grammy now, and I cherish the relationships she has with my boys. But there was something very special about being with my mom on this trip.
For the first time in a long time, we were just mother and daughter. And that allowed us to connect even deeper as two women, two moms, two daughters, two friends.
And I did not realize how much I missed that dynamic. I will always be so grateful for the way my mom shows up for my boys. I treasure the times our whole family gets together and thoroughly enjoy our annual extended family gatherings.
But this opportunity to just be the two of us is something I will never forget. To have the chance to really talk, no kids, no interruptions, to wander together, to heal together. I will cherish it for the rest of my life.
So if you’re lucky enough to still have a living parent or parents, take the time while you still have it to get some one-on-one time. They can be the most amazing grandparents in the world, but they still are your parents first and foremost.
Take the time now while you still have them. Allow your heart to open to a past dynamic, enjoy the time to have them all to yourself for a change, and make some memories that will live in your heart forever.
