moments.

Moments

There are moments in life that are just a little more special than others, and spring break 2022 was one filled with moments. We may travel often, but we rarely travel as just a family of six. We often have our friends and their kids with us. We have our extended family with us. We have our kids’ friends with us. A few times a year, however, we make it a point to book a vacation that only involves the six of us. Just my husband, myself, and our four little and not-so-little ones.

Trust me when I tell you these are the best vacations. Our kids are at such a wonderful age, and being able to spend so much quality time with them on these trips is priceless. After all, we have only four spring breaks left until our oldest is in college and potentially doesn’t want to come home and spend spring break traveling with us. I’m here for all the family memories right now. I’m going to brag about these kids for a quick moment – they’re really good kids. They have their moments, sure, but they are well-behaved. They are easy to travel with. They are happy kids. They are up for anything. We never worry about taking them on a plane, on a road trip, to a luxury hotel, to an upscale restaurant – they’re good anywhere we go. They know how to behave in public, and they know we have expectations for their behavior. When it’s just the six of us and they have our undivided attention, they are even more amazing and even easier.

There were so many moments the past week that we will never forget. From the kids making new friends at the resort to the twins finally being tall enough to go on the water slides at the resort to the funny stories, Carter’s constant weather updates, dinner conversations, and so much more. It was such a wonderful week, and my husband and I couldn’t stop talking about it even after we came home, unpacked, and repacked to spend the weekend away just the two of us with our best friends. We spent three hours in the car headed to our resort in Amelia Island talking about how fortunate we are to have this family of ours.

Sure, we all complain about our kids from time to time – they have their moments, after all. We joke about sending them back to school ASAP. We joke about these kids trying to kill us. We joke about being exhausted all the time (maybe that’s not so much a joke as it is an accurate, truthful statement, though). But while we listen to other parents counting down with excitement until their kids are in college and no one is home but them, that’s not a countdown I look forward to. At the end of the day, the best thing about my life is my family – together. I like us together. I like having them all home and us all together. I like being with them. While I look forward to date nights and time alone with my husband, it’s because I need and want time alone with him – not because I want to be away from the kids. I love coming home to them after a quick weekend away or a date night. I love the moments we spend after school this time of year jumping in the pool as soon as I pick them up from school, grilling on the pool deck and eating outside. I love the family walks we take now that we have longer evenings. I love playing golf in the front yard with the kids, or riding bikes, and hanging out with them.

These moments? They’re the ones that make a happy life. They’re the moments we dreamed of when I was pregnant with our first, second, and the twins. These are the moments that shape our own kids and the lives they’ll eventually lead with their own families – lives where the little things are the most important, the family moments are the biggest, and their memories are the sweetest. These moments won’t last forever. For example, we know that this Easter is one of our very last Easter’s in which we have kids who believe. We spent our first Halloween as a family of five rather than a family of six last year because our oldest wanted to be with her friends rather than trick or treating with us. These moments are so, so precious, and these moments are why at the end of the day, my favorite place to be is at home with my family. I’d pick here with them over anything, anytime, anywhere.

Maybe I’m sentimental, and I’m absolutely biased, but I am so fortunate, and I don’t take that for granted. These little moments bring me such joy and so much happiness, and I feel as if this season of life is so, so good.

Embrace your moments. Live in the moment. They change so quickly and time passes with lightning speed – find your moments, live them, and enjoy them. They’re everything.