Meaning of travel.

6am flight means a 3am wake up time.

A 3am wake up time means not really waking up until 3:45am.

Not really waking up until 3:45am means not being able to park in the Economy Long Term Lot.

Not being able to park in the Ecomony Long Term Lot means parking directly in Terminal 1.

Parking directly in Terminal 1 means arriving at the airport with over an hour to spare. 

Arriving at the airport with over an hour to spare means early morning chit chat with my parents.

Early morning chit chat with my parents means sleeping the whole flight to DC.

Sleeping the whole flight to DC means a night out on the town.

A night out on the town means meeting my brother for dinner at an upscale DC burger joint. 

An upscale DC burger joint means they serve a 21-day aged New York cut steak. 

A 21-day aged New York cut steak means I'm no longer a vegetarian. 

I'm no longer a vegetarian means declaring I'm really a flexitarian.

Declaring I'm really a flexitarian means a dinner full of other bits of non-sequitur disclosures. 

A dinner full of other bits of non-sequitur disclosures means learning about every incident my mom can think of, since childhood, where she's taken a spill (including the recent this week), my brother's play-by-play account of the blows he's taken to the back during his new play set in a wrestling ring, and my dad calmly sharing a story about a chance encounter in Paris during his twenties that would have dramatically changed the course of his life and made us all drop our jaws. 

It's only day one in DC.

It's beautiful here. 
Green. Historic. Troves of things to be explored. 

But the treasure, for me, are these meaningful moments of being together.

Together again.