I didn't expect traveling with my kids to get so fun.

But here we are.

In just a few weeks, my whole family will be heading to Italy for my niece's wedding in Florence (our 6th wedding out of 8 we’ve been invited to this year)! 

But what’s surprising me most right now isn't how excited I am about the wedding itself (although I am), or even how much I'm looking forward to the amazing food and wine in Italy (also yes). 

It's how genuinely enjoyable it is to travel with my daughters now that they're basically young adults.

Back when they were little, travel was… a lot. You know the drill—tiny people, giant meltdowns, naps, snacks, strollers, tantrums. It was never easy and rarely felt worth it.

When they got a little older, we actually did have more fun traveling with them, and we went on some incredible trips. And then the pandemic happened and we basically stopped traveling.

But fast forward five years and now? It's a whole different ball game.

They’re no longer just along for the ride. Now they have (many) opinions about where we go, what we see, and especially what we eat. 

I guess all that forcing them to eat their vegetables when they were little paid off, because now they are total foodies.

My oldest daughter Maggie has been busily planning our itinerary for months now. She’s watched every TikTok she can find and now has a whole schedule we're expected to follow while we're in Italy, including all the restaurants we’re going to hit.

And honestly, it’s amazing. Because I love to travel but I hate planning the itinerary. So yes please, just tell me what we’re doing and I’m happy to go along with all of it.

It feels like a new season. One I didn't quite see coming, but now that it's here, I don't want to miss a second of it.

And yet—this week reminded me just how precious it all is.

I keep reading the stories out of Texas and just… breaking.

Twenty-seven little girls washed away from a summer camp very much like the one I used to send my own girls to. Gone in an instant.

It's too awful to comprehend, too big to wrap my head around. They were just kids. Having fun. And in the blink of an eye, everything changed.

I don't have any profound words for that. Only heartbreak. And so many prayers for the families. Because I can’t even imagine what they’re going through right now.

All I know is that when tragedy like that strikes—when it reminds us how fragile it all really is—it changes the way we see things. 

It reminds us that what we have right now matters. It reminds us to be here.

Someone once said, "Sometimes I just look up and think, How did I get to live this life while someone else didn't?" Along those same lines, Robert Brault noted that we should "enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things."

In other words? Savor the moments that you have, while you have them.

Joy and sorrow almost always coexist at the same time. And often the presence of one makes the other feel even more real.

I'm so grateful for the season I'm in, and for a life that feels full.

But I'm also feeling the weight of the world. The grief. The injustice. The pain of people I'll never know.

And maybe that's the real truth bomb this week. We don't get to choose how long the good stuff lasts. We don't get to control what happens next.

But we do get to be here. To notice. To savor. To hold the people we love a little tighter and say the thing we've been meaning to say and laugh a little louder at dinner and take the picture even if our hair's a mess.

Because this season—whatever it looks like for you—it matters. And it's yours. Don't miss it.

So that's my challenge for you this week: Show up for the season you're in. Even if it's messy. Even if it's heavy. Even if it's good. Especially if it's good.

Live with purpose, friend, and have a joy-filled week. 

xoxo, Ruth

This week’s podcast episode…

What’s cooking in my kitchen…

The latest from my Instagram…

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