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Yes, I realize that it’s Tuesday and even almost Wednesday in some parts of the world, but since I actually had this dream on Monday and just didn’t find time to record it, I’m going to give myself a pass.
This past weekend I was at a conference with many other travel bloggers. One of the things you realize pretty quickly when you get into a room full of people like that is how many different ways there are to travel, a diversity that’s of course reflected in the many different websites. There are the mature travelers, the solo travelers, and those who travel in pairs. There are the luxury-resort travelers, the spa travelers, and the twenty-dollar-a-day travelers. There are gear heads and hikers and cyclists. There are political travelers, environmental travelers, and foodie travelers, to say nothing of travelers like yours truly who are just trying to figure out how get as many places as possible with their kids in tow (and who may or may not be married to people who don’t like to camp. But that’s another post).
One of the things that really seized my imagination was all of the young faces I saw in the crowd, kids in their twenties who have just set out on their own. Their presence made me realize something I wanted to be true, but wasn’t sure of, namely that I have a deep hope in my heart that my children will take time to travel before they have commitments or mortgages or children themselves. I want them scruffy and sandaled, carrying backpacks, sleeping on friends’ floors, drinking beer and meeting new people wherever they go. I want them to miss trains, go for days without showers, and grow beards so that I don’t even recognize them. I want them to climb mountains and dive off of cliffs into the ocean. I want them to encounter the other and have the other encounter them, to explore many different foods, cultures, and landscapes. I want them to experience the limits brought on by fear and fatigue but also the absolute freedom of having no set agenda and no one to report to.
When I saw how happy these travelers looked, how friendly they were, how willing to engage with the world, it made me realize that even though I know I’ll worry, I want both my kids become nomads for at least a little while.
I won’t lie: Partly I want this for my kids because I never did it myself (and who’s to say I won’t join my children for part of their journey if they choose to take it?). But I also think I want it because I believe that the best way to learn how and why to help save the world is to see it in all its fragile beauty. And when I did an internal check it made me feel great to realize that I would be ready to embrace my children’s travel dreams, whatever they end up being. Because that is the kind of parent I want to be.
So what are your Monday, er I mean Tuesday, dreams? Please feel free to share them below. Questions? See About Monday Dreaming.
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10 Responses to “Mondays are for dreaming: Future nomads”
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It was SO great to see you at TBEX. I have to say – I was just as inspired by the older faces in the crowd as the younger ones. I think it’s easy to think that you’re only free enough to travel in your twenties & it’s great to see that the wanderlust never dies…
Debbie Dubrow´s last blog ..Istanbuls Spice Market With Kids
I dream to show my kids the world, ok, so, most likely not the world…but as much of it as I possibly can – namely – all 50 states by the time they graduate high school – we’ll see how I do…
I am much like you in that I hope my kids live their lives to the fullest potential – mortgages and other ‘grown up stuff’ can wait – I missed out on so much – but it’s not too late!
I’m certain the drinking beer part will happen!! Great dream – and I’m guessing it will be their dream as well.
Cracking up at the “drinking beer” comment
Mara, I totally agree on all points. Thanks for describing this particular parental need so beautifully.
Michelle
wandermom´s last blog ..Motorola MJ270R Talkabout Two-Way Radios
[...] The Mother of All Trips explains how TBEX can inspire Future Nomads [...]
Love this post! And, as you mentioned in your comment to me on my diatribe, it echoes what I felt when I met at TBEX all of the 20-somethings who embrace backpacking/round-the-world adventures. (Of course, you in your lovely writing style, did it so much more eloquently than I did.)
Perhaps our kids will meet up in an Australian hostel 15 or 20 years from now?
xo
Sweet thoughts Mara, beautifully written! I couldn’t agree more.
Adorable photo too.
soultravelers3´s last blog ..World Cup Football Soccer in Europe
What a great dream to have for your children! I fear not enough parents think the way you do and more should! My Monday dream is to have that dream for my children when & if I ever have any and while I’m waiting to travel the world and see all I can see until then and after.
Cailin´s last blog ..New York gives me the spins
Okay, can we talk about how cute your kids are?! Seriously, well done.
The heart of your post has made me realize that I’ve seen travel transform the 20-something closest to me.
My beloved first cousin used to be scared of strangers, planes, big spaces, tight corners…all sorts of things. But then she took a leap and traveled to Israel. And then Jamaica, all over the island. Then New Orleans, to help build houses. Then all over Europe, for a semester abroad. Then Nicaragua, to help build a school. Along the way she’s picked up new words, new friends and a great strength; she knows she can rely on herself, that she has a lot to offer the world…and that she doesn’t have to be afraid.
I hope your kids don’t have fears to begin with, but if they do, I join you in wishing them some travel and adventure. (And you, too, while we’re at it.
)
Melanie@TravelsWithTwo´s last blog ..A Travel Blogger’s State of the Union
I love this post, Mara, and I hope you share it with your kids, or tell them explicitly that you wish this for them. They will need to incorporate it into their plans for their futures. My parents promised me a trip to Europe when I graduated college, but I needed to work and save up for graduate school. They reminded me of their promise when I received my MFA, but I was worried about finding a job. It wasn’t until the middle of my PhD that I finally took that trip, and that was only because my mother had passed away, had taken out several little life insurance policies for us kids, and my sister ordered me to use that money to travel, instead of surviving on it. The trip was wonderful, thrilling, life-changing, and bittersweet, because I wished I could share all of my experiences with my mom when I returned. Don’t let them talk themselves out of those trips you dream for them, because I want them to regale your with their travel stories .