In the past few months, we’ve had a number of family and friends share their concern that our travel will cause long-term emotional and psychological damage to our children. The concerns shared with us include the difficulty of making friends (especially long term friends), and a sense of ‘not belonging’ caused by not having a single place…
Several months ago, in the middle of research and planning the basic logistics of this adventure, The Lord reminded us to have courage. There are many things about this adventure that were unknown to us before we started. I’d never owned a truck, and though I’d driven a few, I had never, ever attempted to…
Months ago, I backed a KickStarter project called Robot Turtles, a board game designed to teach kids fundamental concepts of programming. I had been thinking about using programming as part of our home school curriculum, and this was a great place to start. We received Robot Turtles just before Christmas, and it was one of…
One clear difference between self-employment and a salaried job is the lack of paid vacations. I am paid hourly so when I don’t work, I don’t get paid. Without a bit of advance planning, it is easy to feel like I can’t take time off or relax without feeling the financial burden. Having just spent…
Many of the folks who hear our story assume that we are somehow financially set, that we have the money to traipse about the country living off savings or other residual income not tied to daily involvement. You might be surprised to discover that our finances are likely not very different from yours. We are…
With out realizing it that post was a great tribute to you and other working dads. This has been on my mind a lot the last several months. YOU are working to provide this life style to your family – while Jess is out doing the bike rides, museums, and library’s with the kids, you are working. Don’t get me wrong – I am a stay at home mom – it is work, but it is also NOT work. Not a lot of men are willing to work more so there wives can stay home – it is a great gift you give your wife and kids. Thank you.ReplyCancel
So Sam,you mentioned your headphones but failed to share what you considered to be a really nice set. I’m currently looking into getting another set myself as my current ones hurt after barely an hour. your experience using headphones that are comfortable for hours would be interesting to hear. maybe another blog post when time permits…or a response here?ReplyCancel
Longer answer later, but short answer now: I have the AKG Pro Audio K271 MKII headphones. Closed back, with HUGE earpieces. The large earpieces sit entirely around my ear, not pressing them into my head at all. I can wear these for hours in a stretch with no discomfort. These are not noise cancelling, but the closed back (and some music) handle quite a bit of noise.ReplyCancel
I think the fact that you are doing it because you saw that it was drawing your family closer together is a good thing. The opportunity for your kids to learn to make friends quickly is a skill that will bless them all their lives. I also really like that you don’t have a predetermined date for when you will be done traveling. This allows you to continue to travel until it is right for your family to change to something else that serves you all better when that time comes.
I moved a lot as a kid. I went to three different schools in the third grade. My struggles weren’t from the changing schools, but the instability at home. My parents were divorced and my mom moved around to get work. She married again and divorced and married again for the last time. All my parents, step and biological, struggled with their own major emotional issues that affected us.
That’s the difference. You and Jess are creating stability through your healthy marriage. You have routine and habits and rules. Your children feel a deep sense of belonging to you instead of something more ephemeral like friends or location. I think I would have preferred a stable family than a stable location.
Thanks for sharing this Cassie. Your sweet girl is in good hands!
We’ve had similar conversations…and have posted some entries in the area as well:
http://boyinks4adventure.com/our-travels/but-what-about-friends/
http://boyinks4adventure.com/our-travels/being-that-family/
Thanks for the links! Both your posts are well written and insightful.
You shared your thoughts into words beautifully. These are good reminders as we may move around a lot.
If you can turn a move into family-strengthening event, then everybody wins!
Thanks for writing this. We also get these questions and your response is exactly how we feel.
It is comforting to know we are in good company! Your travels have inspired us.
Tyler and I wonder if we’re damaging our children by NOT traveling. Do they live in a bubble? Do they have any sense of the world? Then we think, they’re little–there’s plenty of time for that. Your kids are young, they aren’t in a friend-dominated stage of life yet. We are so jealous of all the adventures (just the good ones) you’re having. I think this will be nothing but good for them. And like you point out, if it stops being good for them, you’ll be the first to notice.
Thanks for the note Kristen – I actually laughed out loud at this one. Though we love Lehi, Jess and I are in part motivated by the bubble effect that exists.
It’s all about what your kids need and when, and I’m sure you’ll find the right thing at the right time for them.
We never had anyone express concerns to us, only supportive comments like, “What a great gift to give your kids! They will never forget this.” However, we were only at it for a year. Now that we are finished I can honestly say it truly did give us a stronger sense of family identity and drew us even closer together. I can echo what you said about how quickly kids make friends in a campground and how much more attentive we became as parents. There is just something about being all crammed into 360 square feet for twelve months…
Thanks Jenni!! Yes, most people don’t bat an eye when you tell them you are taking a year off to travel the country. Its the undetermined end date that gets us. We’ve seriously considering just not bringing it up at times. 🙂 How’s re-entry going for you guys?
Thank you so much for sharing this! We too have had concerns from friends and family members, and you put it so well that I’m going to refer them to your post for answers 🙂
Every time we travel with kids we get so much closer to each other, more peaceful, happier, and so in-tune with each other. Once we are home – gosh – so many distractions! I absolutely agree with you that traveling creates a very strong family bong and everything else that was mentioned in this post.
Eve – thanks so much for your comment!