Book the Trip
The moments that matter donât happen over text
How many more times will you sit in the same room as the people you love?
Not text them.
Not FaceTime them.
Not âstay in touch.â
Actually sit across from them.
Same table. Same energy. Same moment.
My husband and I got home Friday after a few days with my parents in Phoenix.
We did all the usual things. Nachos and beer at our favorite Mexican spot, dinner at my dadâs go-to Italian restaurant (a bit of a drive, always worth it), and lunch at Olive & Ivy with my mom and her retired flight attendant friends.
But thatâs not whatâs staying with me.
The moment you canât plan for
One night, my dad and I had a moment I didnât see coming.
No agenda. No structure.
Just real.
The kind of conversation that makes everything else feel secondary.
You canât schedule that moment.
You canât optimize for it.
You canât get it over text.
But you can make it possible.
By being there.
The math we avoid doing
A while back, I bought The Big A## Calendar.
Itâs a giant, visual reminder of time passing.
And it quietly asks a question most of us avoid:
How many more times is this actually going to happen?
Not in a morbid way.
In a clarifying way.
Because when you live in different states, different routines, different livesâŠ
these moments become occasional.
Once a year. Maybe twice.
And suddenly, something clicks:
This isnât infinite.
âStaying in touchâ isnât the same as showing up
I tell myself Iâm connected with my parents.
We text.
We check in.
We send the âthinking of youâ message.
But connection, the kind that shifts something in you, doesnât live there.
It lives in:
agreeing to watch a movie on Netflix that everyone loves - we watched Set It Up!
conversations reliving cherished childhood memories
creating new memories with your parents and significant other
It lives in presence.
And presence requires proximity.
Book the trip
On the flight home, my husband and I made a decision:
Weâre not just going to âstay in touch.â
Weâre going to show up.
More visits (aiming for quarterly) to create more space for moments we canât plan, but would never want to miss.
Because the truth is simple:
You donât get more time by realizing it matters.
You get more moments by choosing differently.
A question
Who are you âkeeping in touchâ with that you should actually go see?
Not someday.
Not âwhen things calm down.â
Soon.
Book the trip!
See you back here next Sunday.
With gratitude,
Liz
Ugh youâre making me face my problems face on đŹ