Family Travel Countdown

While working at Walmart I adopted the practice of committing to only three things at any time. I found that spreading myself across many initiatives resulted in little progress against any of them. That practice from my work life has transferred well to our family vacations. For the most part, we try to keep our vacations focused on a couple key objectives. Our recent trips have been centred around escaping the grind, spending time with the kids and reliving our youth.

This brings me to an important part of goal setting for a family trip. It is important to establish the goals of your trip before you depart. It is equally important to share them with your family members AHEAD of time.

Today I wanted to share what my three goals are for our family’s big trip that is a little over 2 years away. It is important that my family is aware of these things so that they can help support them. If they are not on board, we should probably discuss it soon!

1. I want to spend a lot of time with my family. When looking at the average workday, we are together (and awake) for a few hours each day. The current stay at home environment has made me realize how much I enjoy spending huge chunks of time with my wife and kids. Realizing we both have to go back to our offices at some point makes this a major focus of the trip. 14 months without employment, house repairs, conference calls or commuting means I can spend an extra TWO THOUSAND hours with Paige, Isabella and Julie. I do not know if they are, but I am looking forward to that opportunity.
2. Another goal of the trip is to get comfortable making due with less. On this trip, I hope to take a step back from all the things I think I need to have and get myself focused on the things I really need and value. Living out of a couple suitcases for a year should provide a different perspective on my current daily life. The concept of investing in experiences versus possessions is something I really want to put to the test during this adventure.
3. The final piece is an easy one. I want the family to have fun together. I want the kids to think me and Paige are fun. I want them to have memories of us doing fun things together at a young age. From car camping to snorkelling, to wildlife viewing I want us to do things as a family that the kids will enjoy and that they will reflect fondly upon. A nice simple goal of the trip is to just have fun. I sincerely hope we can all agree on that one.