Adventures of a Mommy on the Move
Who Am I? That depends on who you ask. If you asked me, I might say:
- Host of the (Super) Travel Bug
- Professional Baby Wrangler
- Tantrum Causer/fixer
- Picker-upper of messes
- Packer of Suitcases
- Cleaner of all Things
- Wife of the writing man
For the last 15 years, I’ve played host to quite possibly the world’s most potent strain of the travel bug. It all started with a semester abroad in Australia. My friends and I made one of the best decisions of my life (and one of the worst for my college GPA) and got an apartment off campus by the beach. The school I attended was in Northern Queensland. Having gotten SCUBA certified two years prior and with the Great Barrier Reef right in our backyard, every weekend was an adventure. We hiked, we swam, we camped. We took on an epic 60+ hour road trip in the outback during our spring break. We slept under the stars at Ayer’s rock and spotted crocodiles bigger than something out of Jurassic Park in Darwin. At the end of the semester, we drained our bank accounts and tacked on a 2 week adventure across Oz and New Zealand. Just like that, I was hooked.
I started forming plans and making lists of all the places that I wanted to visit. Of course, finishing school and getting a job, so I could, you know, make money, took precedence. I had started dating my (now) husband shortly after returning from Australia and we moved in together soon after graduation. We both had decent jobs and spent about a year working, but had Marie Kondo been a thing back then, I could unequivocally say that neither of our jobs were sparking joy in our lives. To us, it was obvious that we needed to make a change, so we up and quit our jobs and moved to Ecuador to teach English. Despite how cliché that sounds, I can without a doubt say that it was one of the best decisions of our lives. We made lifelong friends and had the most incredible adventures. But most importantly, it opened the door to a world of possibility that I hadn’t been cognizant of before. Suddenly, I was hyper aware of the kind of life I wanted to live – one that allowed me the flexibility to work and travel simultaneously, the ability to get up and go when my feet are itching and to set off on a moment’s notice when my dream destinations are calling. It set in motion a chain reaction of choices that brought me to where I am today.
My better half and I are lucky enough to be able to make a living on our computers, with the help of a wi-fi signal and a strong cup of coffee in the mornings. We have traveled to and sometimes lived and worked in nearly 60 countries. We’ve explored just about 40 states in the USA as well. After tying the knot, we took an epic, four-month long honeymoon around the world and are constantly in the state of planning our next move.
But just like all things, our world is constantly evolving. In January of 2018, we welcomed a healthy (and large!) baby boy to the family. After hibernating for the rest of the winter, we finally stepped out of the den. Our son took his first plane ride at 3 months old and started collecting passport stamps at 7 months. Although having a baby has changed the pace and the way that we travel, it hasn’t changed our desire to do it. If anything, it has only served to fan the flames. We are just downright excited to show our son the world. Here is where I am looking forward to chronicling our adventures, sharing lessons learned and giving (and getting) advice from one parent to the next. My husband and I are giving our son the world, one passport stamp at a time. Having the ability to teach our son about the world is one thing that has always been so important to us. So many people say they wish that they could travel more often. Others think that they have to wait until their kids get older. What if I told you that you could travel the way you want to right now? With the right planning and preparation, everything is possible.
