As we planned our travel from the east to the west, we realized that we would be passing near Gilbert, Arizona during the LDS Temple Open House. LDS is an acronym for Latter-day Saints, short for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Also known as the Mormons. Why LDS? Probably because I’m lazy. LDS…
I’ve been a fan of Tabasco Sauce for quite some time. Until we visited Avery Island in Louisiana, I didn’t realize how much we were underutilizing Tabasco Sauce in our Culinary Exploits. You see, Avery Island is the home of McIlheny (mac-ill-henny), the makers of Tabasco Sauce. They offer factory tours, food, and a country…
While getting the truck ready for traveling, I added a locking Tonneau Truck Bed Cover, and I needed a way to lock the tailgate to create a safe place to store stuff. While tailgate and truck bed covers are not perfect protection, they certainly go a long way to making it really inconvenient to dig through…
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…
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.ReplyCancel
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.ReplyCancel
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/ReplyCancel
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.ReplyCancel
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…ReplyCancel
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.ReplyCancel
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…
Hey guys, I’ve been reading for a while, but rarely comment. Figured I’d comment to see if y’all were still in the Acadiana area. I live in Lafayette. My wife and I are in the dreaming stages of getting an airstream. Love y’all’s blog.
We actually were there back in December. I have friends in Lafayette that we promised we’d come back and visit though so there’s definite plans to return!
Awesome! I’m following yall’s blog everyday now. It would be awesome to meet up with you guys next time y’all are around here.
yum
Popcorn + Tabasco + Parmesan Cheese (Even the cheap stuff) = super yum!