traveloehrs

Is 10 years a long time? Looking forward it seems like an eternity. The future is a blank canvas, and the possibilities are infinite. Glancing in the rearview mirror offers a different perspective. Where did the time go?!? The days merge and the passing years gather speed.

I look at Junebug, who is now 7, and realize in a decade she will be 17 (which gives me heart palpitations). While that eventuality seems like a long way out now, I realize it will be here in the blink of an eye. I think back to when she was born, and it feels like yesterday. During our 14-month RTW trip a decade ago, Lianne and I mused about making our life hiatus a once per decade fixture. Our plan was to retire from each decade of our lives with an extended journey. It was easy to commit to the idea at 29 years old when it was just us and our backpacks.

This time the “retirement from our 30’s” would be a much bigger undertaking with Junebug and Lennox (who would be turning 3 in April) along for the ride. We spent the last year or so trying to contrive excuses as to why it would be a foolish idea to do a trip like this with the kids. However, I clearly remember having similar concerns about pausing life to hit the road 10 years ago, and in retrospect it was one of the best decisions we ever made.

The turning point for this trip came in December of last year as we were watching some very poor-quality YouTube videos we made from our last trip. The kids were super excited about watching our explorations and were begging to do a “Big Trip” too. Lianne and I looked at each other and without either of us saying anything we knew the decision was made. We were going to stay true to the goal we set as carefree 29-year old’s and take these kids on the road.