Hello friends!
When I started dreaming about this little side project a few days ago (and yes, it was a mere four days ago), I was mind-boggled at what I might have to share about traveling with kids. The do's and don't's, if you will. You might already be a well-seasoned traveler or fresh out of the hospital with a baby, thinking, "Well, I'm never leaving the house again. We barely made it to the grocery store!" Wherever you find yourself, know I've been where you are, and I hope you are ready to learn, make plans, and then undo them but really enjoy these young years with your kids while also getting out and exploring the world. For where we are going. I thought to myself, "Who said you were an expert?!" Well, um, no one. However, I've done this and learned much from it every time! I sure have! Would it be valuable to do if someone else walked away inspired and encouraged to plan their vacation with little ones still? Absolutely! 100% worth it!
Expectations
Where can I start? I'll tell you what I plan to cover in these upcoming weeks, months, and even years of doing this! I'm excited for this to be a place for me to tell stories about what worked and what didn't! I'll create some resources so you don't have to organize and pull them together. I'll share some helpful resources from other mamas that have done this and done it well! Because who doesn't love to hear the success stories of creating memories and experiences for your children that will last a lifetime? A fellow mama and author I have loved gleaning wisdom from over the years shared a phrase, "Hard ≠ Bad." Quick plug for some wholesome encouragement: "M Is for Mama." Thank you, Abbie Halberstadt, for your honesty and exhortation to embrace the beauty of motherhood in a culture that has toxified and shamed it. Honestly, it shakes me from time to time. Our society is SO prone to stop doing something because it's tough. We're also the first to label something as not worth their time or "bad" when it's not all we expected it to be.
Lots of Ideas, So What's Next!
I wanted to share a handful of the topics that we've got coming to the blog:
Packing Lists (the dreaded lead-up to the trip)
How to Sleep While Traveling
Travel Activities
Won't They Be Bored?
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
How to Find Great Flight Deals
Learning While on the Road
What To Do Wherever I'm At (I'm excited about this! Over this next season of learning and sharing, I'm working to create a unique, fun, and family-friendly resource with activities, places to stay, eat, and hang out in each state in the U.S. We'll start there! And yes, I know that's a lot.)
It Can't Be That Hard, Right?
When my husband and I started talking about travel with our first son, we honestly thought, "How hard could it be?" If anyone knows our story, you know that we met as leaders of a music ministry team (a group of teenagers) traveling to Taiwan to do mission work. It was not a vacation. As I type this, I realize how genuine of a picture and foreshadowing it was to take a team of teenagers overseas. Honestly, it often felt like herding cats, precisely what you're thinking...an absolute joke.
The Oregon Trail?
So before we dive into the practical, let's talk candidly with one another. Firstly, any parent reading this knows that parenthood, in the best and worst ways, is never what we expect. Can I get an "amen"? Everything we look back on gives us the know-how for the next time. The more you do something, the less complicated and scary it becomes, right? The complexity scale constantly changes as your children grow in height and knowledge. :) The "fear factor" might lessen because you've done it more than once, and it becomes second nature. But "Hannah, there's always the fear of the unknown that we're not factoring in." Of course, of course, the unknown. How could I forget? If we let that phrase rule our lives, it would be best to pack it up and padlock the suitcases. Life is exploding with unknowns. Traveling to familiar or unfamiliar places would be included in that! Traveling was how the world was discovered. Are you familiar with the Oregon Trail? That's just the beginning of the analogies we could lay out for unknowns, traveling, "how to's," and "what not to do's." It's where we meet phrases like YOLO (you only live once).
Friends, roll your sleeves back, grab a pen, a notebook, maybe a cup of coffee, and enjoy the ride. As we get ready to dive into traveling with littles, creating experiences of a lifetime, and learning to roll with what comes, I'll leave you with one of my fave more practical and hilarious quotes.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. - Wayne Gretzky"
-Michael Scott
Until next time,
Hannah Woo
All picture credit goes to our dear friend, Kati Hoy!
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