Travelling with Kids

Some family friends of ours from our amazing preschool just moved to Hawaii. They literally left a few days before we left, but they really moved (ostensibly they are returning, but their stuff is IN Hawaii).

Anyway, Dawn sent me this great article "Why You Should Wander the World With Your Kids". The author, Domini Hedderman, took her family of six to Belize (kids are ages 11, 10, 7 and 2":

We come from a safe, comfortable mid-size city in Pennsylvania. We lived in a comfortable house. We belonged to a great, close-knit community – working, worshipping, volunteering, and socializing alongside people we’ve known for years, some for our whole lives.

But something was missing. We were growing bored with the mundane schedule and felt like robots moving through colorless days. We felt stuck in a mindless, monotonous routine – not a life of our choosing. We wanted more than the cycle of work, kids’ sports schedules, buying stuff, and working hard to pay for it. We wanted to create our life. We wanted to break out of the expected and jump into the desired. We wanted to fly away on the wings of our dreams.
So we moved to Belize. With our four kids.

She goes on to give ten reasons why it's a good idea.

Here's her blog if you're interested.

We didn't take the same leap they did. Ireland is an English-speaking country in (relatively) rich Western Europe. We can turn on the tv and see Spongebob. (But we've never been huge tv watchers --well, Sheila can be--and Maggie is hooked up on instagram, probably too much, keeping up with friends.

But life is fuller, slower, and more connected. We've all taken big steps out of our comfort zones and I am definitely--as Cousin always jokes--not "driving around and buying stuff." Johnny came with one Lego set and a few Skylander figures. Maggie came with a book and her ipod. Its nice to have less and need less. To have the things you do have feel more special. Johnny knows that his bike was a huge pain in the arse to get, so he'd better take good care of it. We have just enough fresh food in the fridge for a couple of days and know that it is a heavy walk back, so there's no need to waste or buy what we won't use.

The other thing this trip has done for us, already, is it has made us appreciate the people in our life. Prior to our leaving friends made time for us to say goodbye, to help pack, to drive us to the airport. There's nothing like scarcity to get you to value something (yes, I'm an economist). When people contact us here, we all know that it is special -- there's a six hour difference and it's expensive. My sister-in-law (mother-in-law to our Irish gal, Laura) and my cousin Jackie are waking up early to catch me at work where the internet is not rationed.

This has been lovely. What a great perspective.