The article reflects on the author's realization about the swift passage of time, especially after the loss of family members. To cope with grief and make lasting memories, the author plans a trip to Spain with their elderly mother, allowing her to reconnect with family and experience new places. Travel serves as a break from reality, offering a chance to live in the moment and strengthen family bonds, especially during difficult times like aging and loss.
Travel teaches us as much about ourselves as the places we visit, but it's also a kind of superpower, capable of pausing the clock for a while. Great vacations exist in a temporal netherworld, unmoored from the reality of daily life.
After his passing, I saw an opportunity to broaden her horizons, deciding to start by returning to Spain, allowing Mom to visit the family she had not seen during the many years of Dad's illness.
I wanted Mom to experience new parts of her homeland and meet some of the chefs and winemakers I had befriended through my travel writing.
As our departure date approached, I kicked into neurotic planner mode - a role I inherited from Dad, who used to do dry runs to JFK the day before a flight.
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