This has been a season of traveling with family. No sooner had I stepped off the plane than I started thinking about my next trip. And yet, when I saw the city skyline on my way home, my heart fluttered. There’s something really nice about being home: my own bed, my morning coffee, my journal, the familiar rhythms of everyday life. There is comfort in the ordinary, especially when life has been busy.
But I’m also learning to appreciate the other side of that: stepping away from the routine, being present in a different setting, and making the most of wherever I happen to be.
Before my next trip, this one with just my mom, something happened at the gym that made me smile. A guy who sees me there often asked if I ever take a day off. Funny he should ask! I told him I was about to go away for a week and would probably work out only a few times. Using the hotel gym or taking a break from my usual cardio and weights would be my choice. It was a small exchange, but it got me thinking about how attached we can become to our routines, even the good ones. Knowing what to expect is comforting, but taking a break doesn’t mean we’re losing ground. It can simply mean making room for something else.
And that something else was my mom.
It had been a while since it was just the two of us, and I was glad for it. When we travel with family, there are so many moving parts: schedules, conversations, people to catch up with. This time, we got to slow down and enjoy each other’s company, and it felt good.
It reminded me how quickly time passes, and how easy it is to get caught up in responsibilities and to-do lists while the people we love wait patiently on the sidelines. But moments like these aren’t separate from our everyday lives. They are our lives.
Connection doesn’t require a grand gesture or a carefully planned experience. With my mom, there were conversations, lots of meals, funny moments that we laughed at, falling asleep next to each other in our hotel room to the quiet hum of her C-PAP machine, and negotiating our way to a thermostat setting we could both live with. Nothing extraordinary, but these were some of the parts I’ll remember.
This is something I write about often: the power of being present. Whether I’m home with my morning coffee or away exploring a new place with my mom, I want to appreciate where I am rather than wishing I were somewhere else.
It’s a lot like what I’ve shared about intuitive eating and learning to trust ourselves. We don’t always need to be in control, follow a prescribed plan, or make everything look a certain way. Sometimes the work is simply to listen, notice, and allow ourselves to experience what’s happening in the moment.
I love my routines, and they ground me. But I can appreciate them without clinging so tightly that I miss something meaningful. I can enjoy being home without rushing back to it, and I can enjoy traveling without feeling I have to make every minute count.
There is room for both.
Maybe that’s the reminder I needed, and one I hope you can take with you, too: you don’t have to choose between the comfort of the familiar and the joy of something different. The goal isn’t to make every moment perfect or productive. It’s to be present enough to notice the moments that make life meaningful.