Get Out There

I am here to tell you something you already know, parenting is not easy.  And if you decide to travel with your kids (like we do), then you are signing up for a whole next level crazy.  I could give you many reasons not to travel with your kids:

Long flights – “are we there yet?”  get ready to hear that every 5 minutes while your trapped on a 10 hour flight with said child

Long lines – “ how much longer?” for every line that is more than 3 people or 3 minutes

Foreign food – “I’m not eating that, gross.” For every food group that is not a recognizable cheese or carb.

No interest – “do we have to go there/do that?”

My whole blog could be on the obstacles that will be thrown at you.

And yet, I want to tell you that there is one reason alone that you should.  Connection.  When you are put in situations that you need to find a solution to, you connect.  When you explore and see new things together, you connect.  When you unplug and give more attention to your children and less to your phone, you connect.  Travel for me is all about the connection it brings to my family.  An inside joke, a funny story, the feelings and experiences connect our family of four and makes me a big proponent of why you should explore as a family.

In my experience, the key to traveling with your loved ones is prepare, prepare, prepare.   When I was pregnant with our first child my doctor was insistent that we needed a birthing “plan” detailing exactly what we wanted during the delivery.  Painstakingly, I thought of every detail and documented it so we could be sure everyone understood what the plan was.  When I presented it to our doctor, I was very proud of all my hard work.  Dr. B skimmed through the plan and said, “ok, I know what you want.  What I don’t know is what baby wants and you’ll have to accept that, things may not go according to plan.”  What?  I just spent weeks talking to my husband about the best choices for us, planned, hired a Duala, and now you’re telling me my plan may not work?  But that’s pretty much life with a baby/toddler/child/husband/human, etc.  You should have a plan, but not be so tied to it that you can’t be happy or content with an alternative plan.  End result achieved.  Happiness.  So why worry about how you got there?

And in the end, baby decided not to “turn” and mama got a c-section.  Not part of my plan, but could not be happier with the result of a perfect, healthy, baby girl.

“I can give you many reasons NOT to travel with your kids”