Written by Windy Locke
As an avid traveler and lover of adventure, our lives changed when the world suddenly slowed down and all of our travel plans evaporated before our eyes. At first we held on to hope as plan A turned into plan B and then we watched as plan B slipped through our fingers too. I’ll be honest, there was a lot of grief in the loss of those plans. Then there was a lot of guilt for feeling grief over vacationing when there were so many more important things going on in the world.
After mourning those losses and making peace with the guilt of it all, it was time to move on and figure out what adventure could look like in a disconnected world. How can we experience wonder and adventure close to home? What new and exciting things could we learn and perhaps more importantly how do I continue to build the resilience, independence and confidence in my child that we gain so abundantly in our travels?
The answer, for us, took a surprisingly nostalgic turn to my own childhood. A seemingly simpler time where summers meant sprinklers and bike rides, homemade ice cream, climbing trees and back yard camping under the stars. It wasn’t just us either. My social media filled up with families enjoying learning new things and having new adventures at home together. I realized that while my world view was limited as a child, my imagination and independence was not. It takes courage to try new things and fail and get back up again. The confidence gained from mastering new skills is immeasurable. I found myself allowing extra freedoms and opportunities for independence too as I recalled the practically free-range parenting that was the norm of my childhood. While kids staying out until the street lights come on is a bit much for me and most of the parents I know today, there are lessons to be learned from that style of parenting, my friends.
I expect and hope that someday soon we will be out in the world again, discovering new places, meeting new people and trying new things in places far from home. Until then, we will take in all of the life lessons that home has to offer and try to appreciate the joy of simple and slow.
