Stuck on the highway in a sweltering minivan full of my family sounds like the start of a horrible road trip, but we were only 15 minutes away from home.

Although I thought it would be a normal car ride back to our house, I was wrong. The rare occasion that all six of my family members were in the car together happened to occur one day, as did a major highway crash involving a semitruck and at least one other car. It caused the entire highway to be shut down, and we reached the peak of the traffic jam just after an exit. We were stranded with hundreds of other cars on the highway and no end in sight.

I thought I might die. Stuck with all three of my annoying brothers and my exhausted parents, everyone wanted to get home. There was absolutely no way we were getting off of the highway anytime soon. Sounds terrible. However, in the wake of such a horrible crash, the day turned out better than I expected.

Once everyone realized we weren’t going anywhere for a while, people started getting out of their cars. We did too. That’s the first and only time I’ve walked in the middle of a highway. Mostly, we just sat around and talked, took short walks, and enjoyed each other’s company (to the extent that siblings can, anyway).

Eventually, they found a way to get us to the nearest exit, and we were able to get off the highway. While this experience is definitely not one that I’d recommend, it did help my family to bond with each other in a time when we rarely get the chance to spend time together. With everyone’s lives getting more and more filled with school, clubs, friends and just general life, it was nice to be forced to take a break with all of my family, together.

Looking back, I’m grateful for the time I’ve spent with my family, whether that’s being forced into sticking by them or by choice, the moments we create together help us stay connected. Family is a big part of my life, and though it won’t look the same forever, I want to look back knowing that I made the most of every chance I got to spend with them.