You can't tell your friends, "I can't talk now, I'm late for my polo lesson," without sounding like someone people want to punch in the face. And I knew not to add that I was at the Rosewood Mandarina in the Riviera Nayarit riding the same polo pony Kendall Jenner was recently seen on in Vogue. Some details are best kept to yourself.

Still, there I was.

This was after a two-hour morning ocean fishing trip with my three kids, where we caught enough fish that one of the resort's restaurants turned into tacos and ceviche by lunch. There is something perfect about catching your own lunch and then sitting down to eat it together a few hours later, the ocean still in view.

Traveling with adult children is a joy in this stage of life. Gone are the days of planning trips around nap schedules, strollers, and lines for water slides. Now our travels include massages on the beach, rounds of golf and tennis, tequila tastings, and long meals that stretch into unrushed conversations.

On this trip, my wife took our two new daughters-in-law on a meditation hike up one of the surrounding mountains. They came back tired, happy, and glowing, calling it "totally exhausting and completely worth it." I skipped out on that one. I enjoy hiking, but I've learned to be honest about what nourishes me and what doesn't. Growth sometimes looks like opting out, especially when it includes breathwork and gongs under a tree.

Traveling with your partner brings its own kind of closeness. My wife and I are about to spend several weeks hiking together in New Zealand. But traveling with adult children, who don't need caretaking, who say thank you, and who seem to even want to be with you, is a gift you don't fully appreciate until it arrives. Just don't look at the final bill when you sign it.

Staying at a place like the Rosewood Mandarina certainly elevates the experience. But the real luxury isn't the setting. It's the season of life. It's having the time, the health, and the people you love beside you. For a few days in Mexico, everything felt unhurried, connected, and exactly right.

Mark Rothschild is an author at Accidental Wisdom, where he writes about work, family, faith, and the mess in between.