My parents were born and raised in a small town in western Kentucky, and lived there for the early parts of their lives. Both coming from relatively large families, it was no easy decision for the two 20-somethings to get married and move 600 miles away from home to start a new life and family of their own.

North Carolina ended up being their permanent home, which means my brother and I were raised 600 miles away from our extended family. While I wouldn’t trade my life in North Carolina for anything in this world, I also won’t deny the difficulty of being so far away, and I may even refer to Kentucky as ‘home’ on occasion.

When you only get to see your grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins once (or twice, if you're lucky) a year, you learn to live in the moment and take it all in. You learn that family truly is everything, and that the number of minutes you get with them in this life are few and far between. You learn that a picture is, in fact, worth a thousand words.

Seeing pictures of everyone on Thanksgiving and Christmas hurts. All of the cousins except for me and my brother. All of my dad's brothers except for him. All of my mom's siblings except for her. Those pictures fill me with so much joy, but a little part of me is always aching to be in them.

I take a lot of pictures when I’m with my family, and I’m sure it can get annoying. I only got to see my baby cousin as a baby one time. I only get to see my grandpa working hard, sweat dripping down his face in the yard once a year. I only get to see my cousins on the baseball field once a summer. I only get to drive through the Kentucky countryside and admire the tobacco, corn, and soybean fields once a year. I only get to play scrabble with my aunt once a year. I won’t apologize for wanting to have a hard copy of the small things or for wanting to be in the pictures once a year.

Being far away from my family has taught me that just being with family is more than enough. There doesn’t have to be any extravagant plans. Just sitting on the couch in between my grandparents watching my younger cousins laugh and play is more than enough for me. Sitting on the lake in a boat all day is incredibly satisfying when you have your family there with you. Playing kick-the-can in the back yard after dark with all of your cousins is more fulfilling than anything in this world.

I have learned that though I may only see my family once or twice a year, their love for those farther away is just as strong as it is for the ones they see regularly. Every time I return to my favorite place on earth, things pick up right where they left off. There is no awkward storytelling, no small talk; it’s as if I never even left.

And that’s my favorite part about going ‘home.' I value my time with my family so much more than I probably would if I lived three doors down. The hugs are longer, the meals taste better, and the laughs hurt more, and the goodbye tears are much more painful because I know that I will have to go another 365 days before we get to pick up right where we left off. But I always know I have another place to call home.

If you’re lucky enough to live close to your family, don’t take it for granted. And if you aren’t quite as lucky, relish every moment you get to spend with them, because time flies, and one day, you’ll wish you had.