Parenting teenagers comes with a strange sense of finality. A family vacation reminded me to enjoy every moment.

The author (not pictured) took her four teens on a vacation.Courtesy of the authorI took a family vacation, knowing my sons are getting closer to adulthoodWatching them grow more independent made the trip feel especially meaningfulI'm learning that family connection changes shape as children get olderI had no idea that the last bedtime story I read my kids would be the last ever. Or that the last time I held them — or kissed a scraped knee or sang them a silly song — would be the last time I'd do any of those things.

That's a good thing, of course. It saved me, at least in the moment, from the pain of knowing those sweet little rituals were coming to an end. But realizing it later opens the door to a new awareness of just how quickly it all goes.

And, for me anyway, a new dread that it will be over far faster than I'm comfortable with.Parenting teens has a weird finality to itUnlike when your kids are little, and their needy period seems to drag infinitely (and exhaustingly) on, there's this weird sense of finality when you're parenting teens and young adults. Because one of the things that happens as your kids get older is that you realize just how painfully true that adage is — you know, the one you rolled your eyes at as the weary parent of a toddler — "The days are long, but the years are short."

The author says time does fly when raising kids.Courtesy of the authorUnfortunately, another thing that happens when they get older is that they pull away. One minute, you can't even make a solo trip to the bathroom, and the next, between friends and extracurriculars and part-time jobs, you're practically begging them to hang out with you.

So, like any mom who's secretly feeling desperate to grasp any moment of connection she can, I made my four boys, ranging in age from 13 to 20, an offer they couldn't refuse: a family vacation. To them, it was a trip to Beaches Turks and Caicos. To their dad and me, it was a precious chance to soak up these last few opportunities for com