My dad is in his 70s. We live in different countries. Travel is taxing on our bodies, and at some point, getting into a pressurized flying tin can for 12 hours, and shuffling through airport security and customs isn’t appealing or sustainable anymore. As an immigrant, I can count the number of times we will see each other in the coming years. If health, schedules, babies, school holidays and careers go well then maybe we see each other for a couple of weeks every year for the next 30 years. That’s 30 trips max, and I’m being generous. That’s how immigrants think about family time and moments together. We know the visits and moments together are finite, and each one is sacred.

Photo by Tanishq Tiwari on Unsplash