A Mother’s Day Reflection
There’s something really special about traveling with your mom, it’s like bringing a piece of home with you wherever you go.
Yesterday was Mother’s Day, and I spent the day with the person who’s not only raised me, but also travelled the world with me. Together we’ve been to Turks and Caicos, Punta Cana, St. Lucia, Mexico, London, Paris… and the list keeps growing. It’s wild to think about how many places we’ve experienced side by side, how many planes we’ve boarded, hotel beds we’ve crashed into, and sunrises we’ve seen from opposite corners of the globe.
One of the best things I’ve discovered traveling with my mom is that those moments of homesickness are fewer and farther between. When your mom is right there beside you, whether you’re sipping a drink in Saint Lucia or trying to read a subway map in Paris, it’s like a piece of home is traveling right along with you.
There’s a quiet kind of joy that comes from watching your mom discover something for the first time, or the fifth time. Whether it’s a meal, a sunset, or a charming little side street, her face lights up like it’s all brand new. Those are the moments I’ll carry with me the longest, not just the places we went, but the way we experienced them together.
And I know that one day I’ll treasure those memories even more than I do now. The funny stories, the missed trains, the sketchy hotels, and the little travel mishaps, they all become part of a shared language we speak together. It’s like collecting inside jokes across time zones.
There’s definitely a difference between traveling with your mom and traveling with friends or solo. You take fewer risks, but in a comforting way, like maybe you’re not out at the club till 2 a.m., but you’re wandering through cobblestone streets at sunset, or having your second scoop of gelato on a quiet bench. It’s a different type of fun, slower, maybe but deeply special.
Plus, when I’m with my mom, I feel like nothing can really go that wrong. Sure, plans change, things go sideways, but she’s like a built-in safety net. She rolls with the punches better than anyone I know, and somehow still makes it fun.
That said, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, There are definitely “Mom, stop” moments, but honestly, that’s the charm of it. And honestly, I wouldn’t trade those moments for anything, even the time I booked us an Airbnb on the fifth floor of an old Parisian building… and forgot to mention there was no elevator. Oops. (We made it though, and yes, she still brings it up.)
I’ve been traveling with my parents since I was little, but now, being in my mid-twenties, it feels different. It feels intentional. And honestly, sometimes it just feels like traveling with a friend.
As Lorelai Gilmore once said:
“You know what the great thing about moms is? They’re like the perfect travel companion”
Here’s to all the moms who make the journey even better.
Halfway to Somewhere 