There are a countless number of lessons to be learned on the road. We are literally and figuratively exploring uncharted territory every day. So we are faced with life lessons and opportunities for personal growth at every turn. By far my favorite of these lessons is learning the ability to adapt to new and unpredictable situations. Having to cope with the unexpected isn’t easy and, when you are on the road, 75% of our encounters are random by nature. There are a few ways I handle this as a parent.
First, we keep our plans loose and very little is set in stone. We will usually look for house sitting opportunities in areas we want or haven’t yet visited (I go into a bit more depth about house sitting on the “how we make it happen” blog post), and will usually have them approved at least a few weeks ahead of arrival to give us a good foundation for the journey. We consider that our responsibilities, as we have to be there at a previously agreed upon time and place. But I tend to leave a few days between each location free to allow us to visit what or whom we are drawn to or flow towards. We will also meet people that will randomly offer us their home or invite us to their farm. We have seen some amazing animal sanctuaries this way. FUrthermore, we always sit, usually at coffee shops and discuss as a family our plans or lack thereof. If you have been in a car with a child chances are you have been asked “are we there yet?”. Kids want to know! So planning discussions are very important to keep the sanity within our team. If they know our heading and have tools to map it out, they won't feel the need to be constantly informed.
Second and another thing we discuss during planning, is the power of perception. Good days and bad days are usually deemed so by the mind. Things and circumstances only hold the value you choose to put on them. Nothing is “good” or “bad”, you decide what to label each occurrence as, because of the way it made you feel. But, not only, can you alter the way something makes you feel by changing your perspective, things are never exactly the same way every time so something you used to not enjoy might become your favorite thing to do later in life. It is imperative to keep an open mind as you encounter something that you weren’t expecting.
And lastly, I push them towards new opportunities, and to try new things, but I give them space to do it their way. My daughters are complete opposites in many ways. When it comes to rainy days for example: Khiara, my oldest, loves running, dancing and being in the rain no matter what she’s wearing or what she will be doing with wet clothes later; On the other hand, Akyra, my youngest, doesn’t like the feeling of the rain drops on her skin or the stickiness of wet clothes, or having to deal with the aftermath of getting soaked. What my personal preference is, when it comes to teaching them coping mechanisms, is irrelevant. I give them room to choose what suits their personality best but still allows them to proceed with our day. So, Khiara will jump in puddles and get all wet, and Akyra will calmly walk with her umbrella and rain boots. As we travel through a city, we don’t always have time to stop and wait for the rain to end. And sometimes we are caught in the rain for days at a time. So, forward and onward we go. At times we’ll be the only ones looking at an outdoors exhibit in the rain, but if we cared about things like that we would miss out on some amazing sites.
Obviously, as they grow the way the conversations are held changes slightly. We’ve been traveling as a trio for 4 years now, and full time traveling for almost 2. So these explanations have evolved as my youngest went from 6 years old to a very mature 10. I give them as much as they will take in before zoning out. But I don’t try to in any way simplify the information. Changing the way the information is presented is not the same as dumbing it down. In essence they have been hearing the same things for 4 years but with more details as they were able to handle it.