The Gift of Travel

The clock glowed in our dark room.

Midnight.

 But I lay wide awake. Unable to think past all that I had experienced and seen the week before.

I had just returned home from Washington D.C. and I felt that all too familiar pull I have every time I return from a vacation. One that grows deeper inside me every time I go somewhere new. One that I know now not to fight because that feeling will never go away.

I rolled over and nudged Chris, "Are you still awake," I asked him. "Hmm...sort of...what do you want," he asked me in a groggy voice. "I just wanted you to know that travel is a gift and that I want to make sure I keep traveling and that the girls get that opportunity too," I stated. "That's nice," he responded and was back to sleep before I could say anymore.

But I couldn't fall asleep. The reality hit me full force what an absolute gift travel is. To see various historical landmarks, to experience different races, varying political beliefs, varying religious beliefs, to see the beauty of a different country, or just the vast differences between one state and another. To have the ability to meet people who are different than you. Or just observe others in their life, their state, their country.

Yes it is a gift. One that I will forever cherish.



My desire is to give these girls the gift of travel.

Laying there in the dark I realized how much I want to give our girls what my parents gave me. That gift of travel. As a young child, my parents had very little extra money for travel. Yet they still made sure to travel around our state. Visiting various state parks, different towns, etc. As we got older we were able to visit places like Washington D.C, Florida, Arizona, Montana, Georgia, St. Martin, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, Hawaii, and numerous other places in between.

I so desperately wish for my girls to receive that same gift. There is so much to learn from observing others and just being still.

I'm not sure how it will look in our lives, or if it is even financially doable right now in our lives, but I know that I will give my girls this gift.

There is no greater gift in my mind than the gift of travel. The ability to see the life of another opens your mind, eyes, and heart to something new.

That is a gift!

Do you love to travel? Do you see it as a gift?