Here’s a short family story that I might share:
A few years ago, my family and I went on a road trip to the mountains. We were so excited to escape the city and enjoy some fresh air. After a long drive, we arrived at the cabin we had rented, which was nestled near a lake. My sister, who loves swimming, immediately ran down to the water. My dad, on the other hand, started unloading the car and organizing our things. As soon as we settled in, we all went on a hike through the nearby forest. We didn’t expect to see much wildlife, but to our surprise, we came across a family of deer grazing in a meadow. It was a beautiful moment, and we stood quietly, watching them until they noticed us and ran away. That evening, we sat by the fire, roasted marshmallows, and talked about the day's adventure. It was one of the most memorable family trips we've ever had.
In this story, I made sure to keep the verb tenses consistent. All the actions of the past are in past tense, which makes it easy to follow. If I had switched tenses without reason, it could have been confusing. For example, instead of saying "we didn’t expect to see much wildlife," I avoided switching to present tense, which would have disrupted the flow.