Traveling with Kids
For a few decades, Matt and I have dreamt of traveling the world with kids. Way before there were kids in the picture. I remember so clearly my first time out of the country on a high school trip to Spain and how shocked I was by the size of the asparagus. Yes, Gaudi and flamenco and all the sites and sounds of Barcelona were also amazing. But that giant white asparagus was wild to my teenage mind.
My life has been shaped by moments of travel, experiencing Tokyo on a business trip with my mom, living in South America managing an ecolodge, passing out while pregnant on a rooftop in Delhi. But as a parent of young kids, opportunities for travel seemed too risky and out of reach.
Matt and I dreamt up this perfect moment - when the timing would be right to take a pause from our lives and go see the world again, this time with our kids. It’s a goldilocks thought process - not too young that they’ll be too difficult or not remember the trip, not too old that it’ll disrupt school or they need their friends more than us. So here we are, traveling and worldschooling with a 10-year-old and 12-year-old.
And let’s be honest - holy cow - what luck and privilege I have to be able to do this with my family.
This trip has taken months (years!) of preparation. We have built a massive Trello board to project manage each element of this adventure, from homeschooling plans to Airbnbs, from renting out our house to baggage weight limits.The logistics are ridiculous. Despite the hours and hours of work, every time I think about this road ahead of us I am bursting with excitement. What will it be like for my kids to see the colors of street art in Mexico? What will it be like to be quiet together in an ancient garden in Kyoto? What will the contrast be like from the beach to Nairobi in Kenya?
For years we have been reading and rereading this children’s book by Matt Lamothe called “This Is How We Do It,” which shows these beautiful snapshots of children’s lives around the world, describing family life in Peru, Russia, Uganda, etc. (Thanks Lilli for gifting us the book!) I can’t wait to show my kids the everyday things in these different countries that we’re visiting. With up to six weeks in each location, I’m hoping we really do get a taste of life everywhere we go.
It is so hard to really wrap our heads around what this adventure will be like. But as our dear friends keep reminding us, the destination is the journey AND we’ve already arrived.
