I leave my husband and kids at home to travel the world with my parents

• I've been taking trips with my parents, without my husband and children, for the past 10 years.
• We've been everywhere from Hong Kong to London to New York.

"Are you guys sure you don't want to ride the roller coaster with me?" I asked my parents, my heart skipping a beat as the screams from the mega drop faded into the background.

"We'll pass," my dad said. "But we'll wait for you by the exit."

As I made my way to the back of the line at Universal Studios Florida during our trip in June last year, I looked over my shoulder to wave at my mom and dad and watched as a teenager next to me did the same. We were both traveling on our own with our parents; the fact that I was in my 40s and married with children while he looked like he was about 16 years old was the only difference.

I leave my husband and kids at home to travel with my parents

For the past 10 years, I've taken every chance possible to travel sans my husband and kids with my mother and father. It started with a chance opportunity in Hong Kong. It was 2013, and I was less than a year into my life as a working mother.

I had always traveled for business — first in my job as a philanthropy advisor to global foundations and nonprofits and afterward as an author — but after having my twins, the trips became less frequent but also more precious: a bit of time to travel solo and just be me, not mom, my purse blissfully lighter without the added weight of diapers and bottles and crayons.

My parents had also become big travelers in their retirement, willing to go almost anywhere in the world, especially if a cruise ship was involved. My dad messaged me to ask for advice about places to stay in Hong Kong, where their latest voyage would set sail from. Instead, I wrote back: "What if I meet you there and we stay together?"

I needed to be in Hong Kong for work anyway, so I added a few extra days to my trip and booked the same hotel as them. My dad knew I was coming, but my mother had no clue. When they arrived, I approached her in the lobby, asking if she needed help with her bags; the video of her shocked reaction to seeing me is still one of my most treasured pieces of digital content.

We explored the city together, boarding the ferry to Kowloon and taking the tram to the top of the Kowloon Peak, eating dim sum at the train station, and wandering through the street markets by night. In the moments with little to do but enjoy ourselves, I got to know my parents better — not as Mom and Dad, but as adults.

After that first trip, I was hooked on traveling together; I started trying to arrange for my parents to join me in as many places as they could. We've seen Broadway shows followed by having cocktails on rooftops in New York and seen West End Shows after having afternoon tea in London.

For that meeting in Orlando last year, they drove up from their home in Miami to meet me. We stayed in the same hotel room and ate dinner at a themed restaurant where the waiters wore costumes. The next morning, we joined the queue at the gate for Universal Studios, where we drank Butterbeer in Diagon Alley and posed for photos under the life-sized Jaws.

My family has always traveled together, but I used to take it for granted

I have two brothers (the first was born when I was 4), and our summers were spent in the backseat of my mom's Astro van, driving up and down the state of Florida. I have fond memories of those family vacations, but I was too young to appreciate how precious that time was; in my surly teenage years, I'm embarrassed to admit that I often saw traveling together as a chore. I remember with shame going on a family cruise to Alaska and spending the entire time locked in my cabin writing letters to an unrequited crush, ignoring the majestic glaciers we passed.

As I got older, moved away from home, and got married, quality time with the family always included my husband, my brothers, or both. Once my kids came along, they became the center of everyone's universe. The travel didn't stop — we've been lucky to take family vacations together through the years — but anyone who has vacationed with young children knows that there is no such thing; it's just being a parent in a different environment. Still, while I cherished our time together as a family unit, I realized I was missing the moments when I could really connect with my mom and dad on those trips.

On our trips, I've developed a whole new relationship with them

Exploring the world with my parents has been about creating quality time just for us. Removed from our day-to-day responsibilities, we have long meals and tell rambling stories. While we sometimes fall into our prescribed family roles — I do all the research and planning, my mom frets about whether she needs a coat, and my dad picks up the check at dinner — we are mostly free and unencumbered. There's so much pleasure in simply being in each other's company. I've gotten to know them in a whole new way.

People often talk about the stress of being part of the "sandwich generation," a period of time, usually in your 40s and 50s, when you're caring for your children and your parents at the same time. I know how lucky I am to have this golden "pre-sandwich" moment when my kids are old enough not to need my constant care and my parents are healthy enough to still be up for an adventure. You can bet I'm going to milk every possible trip out of this moment while it lasts.

Maybe next time they'll join me on the coaster.