by Lianne Castelino www.whereparentstalk.com
To hear her tell the story is truly inspiring. And I could hear the story over and over again and never tire of it.
A couple and their two children embarking on a year-long trip around the world, leaving tomorrow (June 30th). A decade in the making. The product of carefully laid out plans, a sabbatical, painstaking detail, a life overhaul. You name it. All the pieces of a fabulous book are there!
Imagine renting out your home for a year, moving your stuff out of your house, selling vehicles, packing what’s required to be gone for 365 days.
Now imagine. 20 countries, 6 continents, planes, trains automobiles of all kinds, culture, landscape, languages, foods, parenting, kids. What an absolute encyclopedia of learning this family is about to encounter.
So many pieces of this story strike me. None more than this — the fulfillment of a lifelong dream to travel the world. One that will soon be coming true with two little boys, 8 and 6 years old, in tow.
At a time when so many of us put things off til tomorrow, next week, next month, next birthday, when we retire, etc., this family is executing on a carefully laid out plan to achieve a dream — now. I absolutely admire that.
What a rich lesson for their children. Not only will they be experiencing the awe and wonder of travel, but they will be doing so with their mom and dad. Talk about family bonding.
Travel is truly the ultimate education, whether you are a child or adult. Setting and achieving goals is as well.
The tales this family will be able to tell promise to be fascinating — from the point of view of two parents, and two boys who will leave the life they know to set out on the ultimate family adventure.
I’m always telling my kids ‘do it now’ — tomorrow may never come. They are all likely too young to understand this concept, but perhaps one day. Why put off tomorrow what you can do today? That’s likely the entrepreneur in me talking. And as a former professional procrastinator, this revelation has been a process and a journey.
The journey for Heather Greenwood Davis and her family has been long — 10 years — just to get to departure day. But they decided to do it while their kids were at the ‘perfect’ age — old enough to understand, young enough to be curious and adapt, and the right age to enjoy it all with their parents.
What an unbelieveable gift!
Parents or not, we can all learn from this story. Just do it would be the moral of the story for me.
I once read this saying on the door of a fridge of all places: Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present.
Just do it, today.
Watch our interview with Heather Greenwood Davis
Read Heather’s weekly postcard: www.metronews.ca
Follow Heather’s family adventure: www.globetrottingmama.com
Weekly video interviews with Heather: www.whereparentstalk.com
