May 20 2009
Giving them pages to read
The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. ~Saint Augustine
I read that quote a few weeks ago when checking in on Jamin’s family trip. I had just returned from traveling with my kids and soon after our return I was asked advice on how to travel with kids. So, the quote really struck a chord with me.
Ever since I became a full time stay at home mom, our family’s travels have averaged almost one trip per month. Since we have started traveling during the autumn for football games, the average is up a little bit more.
People are often amused when we tell them we aren’t going to be in town during a certain weekend, probably because it seems as if we just returned from another trip from somewhere. Other people have exclaimed how amazing it is we take Tebow on trips even though he is three months old.
Most of our trips are to visit family. And our kids are fortunate because they have two sets of grandparents with very different locations.
Damon’s parents have a fixed position, where we pretty much always see them at Lake Martin. This provides a kind of comforting stability, where you always know how to get there and what will happen.
My parents are still in the military, so visiting them has been more of adventure where we take new roads (or air streams) to visit them. We get to explore new cities, learn new traditions, and see just a little bit more of this world.
I’m thrilled we are setting an early precedent for family travel at such a young age. As parents, we have been dreaming about family vacations where we get to play tour guide for our children and proudly show off this wonderful world. Trips to Disney once or twice are on the long term agenda, but I want to see all fifty states with my kids. Maybe we will take them to Scotland, England, and Ireland. I would love to give them a tour of The Netherlands and show them where I went to high school.
I want my children to read more than one page in this book called The World. And I want to be the one helping them sound out the words.
The moms in our fitness class are all amazed at how much we travel with the kids. And that we do car trips with them. Why shouldn’t you travel with kids?
Tia S-Gs last blog post..Because this is The Pleasant Blog
But let’s be real… America IS the best chapter. So, it’s no big loss if that’s all you read. Besides, most of the other chapters aren’t even in English.