Following the post that lists all the reasons NOT to go, here is the list of all the reasons that, of course, we should go on our year-long adventure.
So here is our “Big Trip” mission statement:
- FUN. Probably not every moment, but as a whole, we expect to have fun.
- Show, don’t tell, the kids that they are in the 1% of this world. They are lucky and not entitled to the endless luxuries that they will expect as they venture out into the world. I don’t want to lecture my kids about how privileged they are, leaving them to grapple with an abstract concept of gratitude.
- Seize time together as a family before their peers overshadow our influence.
- Experiential learning is unparalleled because it sticks.
- We can’t surf in Boulder.
- It’s a great excuse to declutter the house.
For one year, we will be untethered. Today’s to-do list today is crazy long because my to-do list next year will be hopefully blank. (Am I kidding myself?) Is it possible to get back to the non-existent to-do list of my twenties? In my mind, we will be living spontaneously moment after moment without the tedium of dentist’s visits, music lessons with the swim schedules. I picture that we will unplug from this scheduled life, but I wonder if it’s possible anywhere.. anymore. I want to have a different relationship to time, stretch it out, enjoy it rather than feel the tick-tock.
