Our family recently returned from winter vacation. I was thrilled to celebrate Christmas with my maternal grandparents. As they get older, every vacation to see them is such an amazing gift. My paternal grandfather recently passed away. And his passing reminds me to never take these family gatherings for granted.

This winter break, our youngest got sick the day after Christmas. The two of us spent a large part of our trip resting in our hotel room. As I held our youngest and we watched a Paw Patrol marathon together, I was saddened that I was missing out on quality time with our extended family. I realized that I would probably get sick as well and I wouldn’t be able to say goodbye to everyone.

Thankfully I stayed healthy and before we flew back to California, our two oldest kids and I briefly stopped by my grandparents’ place to say goodbye. This one hour was the highlight of our trip.

It had lightly snowed the night before and my kids were thrilled to run around with my mom and play in less than an inch of freshly fallen snow. My grandparents and I stayed warm inside and watched their adventure through the windows. It was one of the rare moments that I didn’t have our toddler with me, so I was able to actually sit down, relax, and chat with my grandparents a bit. We talked about memories of their kids playing in the snow, how we are excited to see them again in the summer, and activities they have planned in the coming weeks. It was simple, it was quick, and it was the perfect ending to our trip.

The holidays are stressful, exhausting, and so amazing with young kids. And vacations with young kids all have their ups and downs. I’m learning that sometimes it is best to just be thankful for the positive memories made and to let the other stuff go. This one hour will definitely be a memory I cherish for a lifetime.