Took my 30-year-old son on a vacation to Hawaii. We had to set ground rules first.

The mother-son trip to Hawaii highlights how families can reconnect using explicit boundaries and shared decision-making, even across long distances. The New York City mother invited her 30-year-old son, Alec, who lives in Southern California, for a four-day trip over Memorial Day Weekend. Before planning, he set rules that they approach the vacation as equals and share expenses; she gifted his airline ticket using miles and they split additional costs. She chose Hawaii partly due to her prior heatstroke experience in Greece, and because she liked the idea of a yoga class nearby. Alec pushed for Hawaii for its resort downtime and daily poke, and he also researched a visiting chef appearance at the Ritz-Carlton O‘ahu, Turtle Bay.