Never go on trips with anyone you do not love.
Troy and I travel with our children. Often with one of them, sometimes with two of them and rarely with all of them. We enjoy getting to see them outside of their comfort zone. It's easy at home to get caught up in the stuff that makes the house/our lives function: i.e. computers, housework, work. When we travel and those distractions are removed, it lets us all relax and spend time together.
We travel with them for sports and for fun. The sport travel is a lot of time in the car...listening to their music, talking about their thoughts, dreams and fears. Then arriving at the destination to watch them interact with a different subset of friends. They don't go to school together and come from many different backgrounds. They work together as a team and then you see them pairing off (usually based on personalities). Team dinners, time in the hotel...it's all fun to watch and observe and be a part of.
Travel for fun is a different beast. We usually have a destination in mind: a favorite city, a college town, the beach. The drive isn't usually as open...we tend to take friends but it is often just as fun. Conversations flow and you gain insights into their day to day lives with friends. Once at the destination, we allow the kids to pick the activities. Museums, record stores, waterfalls, beach...it's all an adventure and a peek inside their world. I love to see what interests them and sometimes see their unexpected reaction to what they are experiencing. Watching them let loose in an environment away from school and day to day pressures. Finding food is another adventure for our entire family. We don't do chains. We try to seek out those mom and pop places or start up restaurants (total dives) to eat. Usually the best food and the best people. We enjoy seeing the reactions to various menu items and we like to share what we order.
We are fortunate and realize that. We appreciate the time we get with each of them, whether separate or together. I think it is good for them to see us outside of our regular environment and to have us focus on them, try new things with them, get lost with them.
Looking forward to our next traveling adventures...
No comments:
Post a Comment