Ruminating

This article came across my Facebook newsfeed, I'm Done Making my Kid's Childhood Magical. I read with increasing interest and when I was finished I felt validated. 

I have resisted throwing huge birthday parties for my children. We don't do a lot of crafts. The kitchen is my least favorite space. I'm not much of an interior designer. Ultimately, Christmas is more stress than joy.

Over the years I have blamed working full-time and lack of time as the reason I fall short in each of these aforementioned areas. From time-to-time guilt takes hold.

I've always said that people have the money for their priorities or to pay for what is truly important to them. Can't the same be said of time?

If crafting was relaxing, I would find the time to craft. If  baking was rewarding, I would find the time to bake.

My mom enjoyed sewing and baking. I used to love sorting buttons in my mom's button box, or standing on the opposite side of the counter while she baked pies.

Sadly, I had to buy buttons to use for my kids' paper Bingo game, and I've baked one pie in my life. It tasted pretty good actually, but as I was rolling out dough I thought about all the other things I'd rather be doing.

While I have an appreciation for those hobbies and treasure the memories, they are not my thing.

So, what do I value? How do I choose to spend my time?

Musical theater
Reading

But, above all else, I love to travel.

To be fair my parents took us on trips and certainly introduced me to the thrill of traveling, but I don't know that either one needs to travel to live. I do.

I get excited about trips, long and short. I will plan for weeks a trip that may never happen, and it never feels like wasted time. And, it's not just about the destination. It's the whole darn thing. Deciding where to go, planning, packing, going, and returning. 

I have a bucket list of places, near and far, that I want to visit with my children.

We are planning a week long road trip to Tennessee this summer. I have already researched games to play in the car, printed a travel journal for each, and even found instructions on how to make a tackle box snack keeper (I guess that's kind of crafty).

My only source of stress when it comes to travel is that they'll grow up before we see it all.

Maybe neither of my kids will catch the travel bug, but I sure hope they'll remember all the places we went and the fun we had along the way. Maybe someday they will share those memories with their own children as they slave away over Simplicity dress patterns or banana bread.