Sometimes all this traveling is nothing compared to those rare moments you have with people who stick with you for life. Sometimes the amazing facts you learn on a tour through a new historical wonder is washed-out against the everyday moments that remind you why you love those friends and those loved ones. My life seems to take me to many brand new places, that in itself are those moments that are once in a lifetime. And yet, I am sometimes humbled by the simplicity of living a “normal” life, far from the extraordinary moments I always seem to be searching for.

Being home was about seeing people, even for just a night. It didn’t matter where we were…..well actually all that mattered was that we were sharing moments over any kind of Latin food which I have been craving for nonstop. But anyways ….

What touched me the most, and shook me awake from this transient life that I live, was the moments shared with my family. It’s funny, sometimes being far apart forces us to cherish even more the rare moments we are together. This included a solo trip to Reno with my sister, a first for us, where we were almost “ambassadors” for our family at our cousin’s wedding. Or an embarrassing moment like carrying my sister on my back for two blocks to our house after her flip-flop fell apart. And most of all, relaxing at home with the family and sharing laughs over my introduction of the addictive “Modern Family” show.

Even a first trip to Niagara Falls, though I was in wonder at the force of such dangerous beauty, was nothing in itself. Instead, what is burned in my memory and completes the trip is watching my father relish in a dream-come-true moment and return to his youthful ways as he smiled non-stop at the falls and gave in to his inner-child that was dying to make paper airplanes and boats. Don’t ask, I just stayed back and captured the moments. Because this was what this trip was about. A reminder to step back and just breathe a moment in. Not necessarily the backdrop it is against, but the people itself and how they have captured your heart and continue to on an every day basis.