Ok so I’ve written my first blog post. Here we go!
Mike and I have both always loved to travel. I was fortunate enough to travel a lot with my family when I was growing up as my dad was a journalist who, in addition to loving travel, also accumulated a lot of frequent flyer points. My mom loved to plan trips and she was very good at dreaming up journeys and booking itineraries. We rarely did the all-inclusive type of travel and instead visited destinations that were a little off the beaten path and less frequented by tourists.
Michael’s family did not travel as frequently but they took a life-changing driving trip across Canada when Michael was 10. Michael remembers every day of that trip with remarkable detail: every hotel, every site, even every meal. It inspired him so much so that he wants our kids to have a similar experience.
As young adults, we both traveled. I did an exchange to France, studied Spanish in Ecuador, and lived for two years in Auckland, New Zealand. Immediately upon graduating from university, I hopped on a plane with my best friend and traveled through Eastern Europe venturing as far east as Moscow and then as far south as Istanbul. Mike’s post-university trip was backpacking in Western Europe which was quickly followed by journeys in Egypt, Jordan, Cambodia, Thailand, and Tibet.
We both love to travel and would always prioritize it over other things. While others banked their holidays, we took every day we could, often returning to work hours after getting off a plane. We were both always calculating that if we took this week, we’d get an extra day because of this stat holiday, etc.
And for us, travel isn’t a week in the Caribbean. That’s not to say that we do not love a vacation in the Caribbean because we do and have done that three times in the last 5 years. But we both yearn to return to the days of going on a trip where we can be adventurous. We want to allow ourselves to move away from to Monday to Friday grind. We want to forget what day of the week it is and truly escape into a different rhythm of living. I do not think that this is a permanent change for us. I also love working and having a career but I also do not want work to define me, especially not since I’ve become a parent. I want to spend meaningful time with my kids while they are young because they grow up so quickly.
We’ve been planning this trip since before our 7 year old was born. We always knew that we wanted to do it when she was in grade 3 so that she was still young but our youngest was old enough that she’ll remember the trip. 2022 is the year and we cannot wait!
J. Paige
Family Travel Countdown 