You’re Not Short on Money. You’re Short on Time.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about time in a different way.

There’s a phrase that keeps coming back to me. “You only get 18 delicious summers with your kids.” Eighteen chances to shape traditions, build connection, and set the tone for what the relationship will look like when they’re grown.

When you look at it that way, it changes things.

With one high school senior off to college in the Fall, and a rising senior who will be off to college next Fall, I find myself reflecting less on what Mr. FamTrav and I did perfectly and more on what we did intentionally. And that is traveling together. And often. 

Not just for the destinations, but for what happens along the way. Like navigating public transportation in Athens, figuring it out in real time, side by side. Or chasing waterfalls across Iceland, bundled up against the mist and the wind, laughing as we leaned into the elements together. Or driving those tiny e‑mobility cars through the sharp, winding curves in Flåm, equal parts laughter and concentration. Or standing together in Arches National Park, taking in the vastness of the Colorado River and realizing just how small we are in the best possible way. And even the quieter, heavier moments, like walking through the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam and talking afterward about what we felt, what we learned, and what we can do differently. These are the moments that stay.

Travel gave us something that daily life rarely does. Presence. Shared experiences. A chance to see each other outside of routine and responsibility. It created space for connection that felt natural, not forced. And over time, those moments became something bigger. They built a foundation.

Because the truth is, we are not just raising children. We are shaping our future relationships with them. We are setting the tone for how they will come back to us as adults, how they will bring their own families into our lives, how traditions will continue. The investment we make now has a long reach.

And this is the part I come back to again and again. You can make more money. You cannot make more time. There will always be reasons to wait. Work. Schedules. Commitments. The idea that “someday” might be easier. But the version of your family that exists today will not be here forever. The kids you have now. Their curiosity, their energy, even their willingness to travel with you. That season is finite.

Travel while you’re young enough to fully experience it. While they’re young enough to share it with you. While everyone is physically able to climb the steps, walk the cities, explore the landscapes, and say yes to adventure.  Because one day, the dynamic shifts.

And if we’ve done it well, they come back. Not out of obligation, but out of desire. Ready to create new memories, maybe with children of their own, building on the foundation we intentionally set all those summers ago.

So here’s the reminder I’m holding onto, and gently offering to you. Take the trip. Not later. Not when everything slows down. Not when it feels perfectly convenient. Now. Invest in the memories. They are the only thing that compounds over time in a way that truly matters.

Wings Up, son. We love you!