After starting a new job in January, I have been blessed with the chance to pursue my passion every day. Even though I love my work, the environment is often strenuous and emotionally taxing, and the long, traffic-heavy commute consumes most of my free time. I've found myself feeling more tired, busy, and stressed than ever before, and missing spending time with my family, too. Each member of my household has a different work schedule, so we rarely get to see each other. Luckily, we've been fortunate enough to have many summer vacations over the years. Whether we're chasing thrills at our favorite amusement park or catching waves at the beach, these trips are unfailingly restorative, memorable, and meaningful highlights of our year. By the time vacation rolls around, we're all ready for the respite- but these trips mean a lot more than just getting away from our everyday routines.

Our family vacations are one of the rare occasions when we all manage to align our schedules and spend time together. We recently had one such opportunity when we enjoyed a two-day vacation to Busch Gardens. My fondest memories of the trip aren't of experiences I had for myself, but of those I shared with my family. I think about riding the pendulum-like Battering Ram with my brother, when I started laughing at something he'd said and couldn't stop because of the feel of the ride. Later, a quiet evening found us crouching mere feet away from a pair of deer outside our resort. They showed as much fascination in us as we did in them. I remember my parents, brother, and I playing poolside Frisbee, spending too many quarters at the arcade, and overindulging in the dessert bar at Golden Coral.