Renee:
There’s always a moment before a family trip when the mental checklist starts running. Flights to confirm, clothes to pack, chargers to remember, work to wrap up, kids' schedules to coordinate, and messages to answer before we leave. The house doesn’t necessarily look any different, but my brain usually feels like it has seventeen tabs open at once.
Traveling to see family isn't always simple, especially as entrepreneurs. Stepping away from work isn't as easy as putting up an out-of-office message. There are clients to support, meetings to reschedule, emails to answer before we leave, and businesses that continue moving even while we're away.
There have certainly been moments this week when I've looked at everything that still needed to be done and wondered if all the effort was worth it.
And yet, somewhere in the middle of all that planning, I almost always have the same thought:
This trip is going to matter.
Most of my family still lives in Ohio, so we don't get to see them nearly as often as we'd like. Every visit reminds me how quickly life moves. The kids are taller than they were the last time we saw them. Someone has a new job. Someone else has retired. There are new stories to tell, new memories to make, and little changes that only become obvious when too much time has passed between visits.
It's funny because family gatherings aren't always perfect. Every family has different personalities, different opinions, different routines, and occasionally those moments that make everyone laugh years later. But when I look back, those aren't the things I remember most.
I remember sitting around the table long after dinner was over, listening to stories that somehow become funnier every time they're told. I remember the hugs at the airport. I remember watching Eden and Xen reconnect with cousins they haven't seen in far too long, only to fall right back into conversation as though no time had passed at all.
And every single time, I find myself thinking the same thing.
This is why we came.
Technology has given us so many wonderful ways to stay connected. We text, we FaceTime, we send pictures, and we comment on each other's social media posts, and I'm grateful for all of it.
But there is still something irreplaceable about sitting in the same room together. Some conversations happen a little more slowly. The laughter is a little louder. The hugs last a little longer. There are stories that never would have been told over a text message and memories that simply couldn't have been created through a screen.
Mark:
I feel that more with every passing year.
Most of my family still lives in upstate New York. We had hoped to visit last Christmas, but life had other plans. My mom began having heart issues, and understandably, travel was no longer the priority.
Thankfully, she's doing much better now, and last Friday we finally boarded a plane to spend time with her and the rest of my family. We are currently staying with my mom and stepfather in their log cabin home.
I don't take that opportunity for granted.
When we're younger, it's easy to assume there will always be another Christmas, another birthday, another summer when everyone can get together. Time feels abundant.
As I've gotten older, I've realized that's simply not guaranteed.
That realization doesn't make me fearful. It makes me more intentional.
I've spent much of my career helping entrepreneurs build relationships, partnerships, and communities. Looking back, I've realized the most important relationships we'll ever build often begin much closer to home.
Success isn't measured only by the businesses we build or the goals we accomplish.
It's also measured by the relationships we nurture, the memories we create, and whether the people we love know that we made time for them.
Renee:
I've noticed something changing with Eden and Xen, too.
When they were little, family visits were all about playing with cousins, opening presents, and seeing who could convince Grandma to make their favorite meal.
Now the conversations are different.
They're asking questions about family history. They're listening to stories they've probably heard before but are finally old enough to appreciate. They're beginning to understand where they come from and how the people sitting around the table helped shape our family long before they were born.
It made me realize that we're not just maintaining relationships for ourselves; we're helping our children build roots.
They're creating memories with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and family friends who have become part of their story. Those connections help shape their identity in ways we probably won't fully appreciate for years to come, and I think that's one of the greatest gifts we can give them.
Mark:
As entrepreneurs, there's always another project waiting.
Another opportunity.
Another launch.
Another reason to tell ourselves we'll make the trip next year when life slows down.
The truth is, life rarely slows down on its own.
If we want to prioritize relationships, we have to do it intentionally. Sometimes that means buying the plane tickets before the calendar fills up. Sometimes it means moving meetings, rearranging schedules, and accepting that work will still be there when we get home.
The older I get, the more convinced I become that relationships deserve the same intentionality we give our businesses.
Maybe even more.
Mark and Renee:
By the time you're reading this, we'll be with family. We'll probably hear stories we've heard dozens of times before, laugh at memories that somehow get funnier with every telling, and spend time with people we wish we saw more often.
There will be moments that don't seem especially significant while they're happening. We'll have coffee together in the morning, linger around the dinner table a little longer than planned, watch Eden and Xen reconnect with cousins, and eventually say goodbye. None of those moments will feel extraordinary at the time, but experience has taught us that's exactly what we'll remember.
Years from now, those are the moments we'll remember. Not the emails we answered before we left, the meetings we squeezed into the week, or the work that felt so urgent at the time. We'll remember the people. We'll remember the conversations, the laughter, and the feeling of simply being together.
And when we look at it that way, the packing, the planning, and even the travel don't feel like inconveniences at all; they feel like one of the best investments we'll ever make.