On one of our last nights in Banff, the four of us sat down to dinner in an upstairs booth of a popular restaurant. We ordered comfort food like spaghetti and meatballs, fried chicken and mac and cheese. We were telling stories of growing up and laughing between sips of wine when it happened. My mom ever so casually says, “yeah, I was telling Matt the other day, I probably only have a good 6-7 years left”.

It’s not like the idea of one day my parents not being here has never crossed my mind, but I haven’t really, like really, really ever thought about what life would be like without them. We are just so close that I don’t want to imagine a life without them. I talk to my mom several times a day and when I’m feeling just off, nothing gets me back on track like hearing her voice.

For some reason, in that moment, it hit hard. It was meant as a soft joke, but I couldn’t help the gut reaction of just bursting into tears and not being able to enjoy the rest of the meal. I had had a lingering head ache all day, but after that cry episode, it hit hard and I immediately felt like I was going to puke and couldn’t really focus on anything.

I know the above is a lot to take in and puts this whole post in a rather somber tone, but stick with me.

While I didn’t plan on it being the ultimate mother daughter getaway (or really putting an expectations on the trip at all other than to have fun), it was exactly that. The price of the quality time with my mom is invaluable and a trip I’ll never forget.

As adults you get to enjoy your parents in new ways- they become human, having made mistakes and you get to see their past experiences and adventures as something you can relate to, not just try to understand from afar.

Watching my mom not just play in the snow but have such an immense pleasure to seeing it and doing those adventures is something I will hold so dear.

I received a few DMs on Instagram that I was so lucky to be able to experience a trip like this with my mom, as the commenters lost their parents early in life. To those friends, I’m so sorry. And to other DMs that said they now wanted to take a trip with their moms, please do! You can find my exact trip with Canada By Design here and other ideas throughout our site.

xox, friends. hug a loved one today.