Ready, Set, Adventure!

I don't remember when Cory and I first started talking about how cool it would be to spend an entire summer abroad with our kids, but it may have been before we actually had kids. So when we found out a few years ago, that Cory had a sabbatical on the calendar for 2017, it wasn't long before my OCD-planning brain kicked into high gear. Could we do this? Itineraries, countries, calendars began to creep into my daydreams and conversations. I started following travel blogs, reading travel books, pinning travel boards.

Ultimately, we decided a year ago to spread the dream a little to the rest of the family. We asked each of the kids to pick a dream destination in Europe. They read a little about it over the summer; they settled on a country; they made wish-lists of cities, landmarks, museums, foods.

So with 5 countries selected, a plan began to develop in layers. We pulled the trigger in October and bought airline tickets out of the country without a settled return date decided yet. We had a starting line. A new part-time job of travel-planning crept into the free-time hours of my days. The planning proved to be almost as exciting as the travel itself and sometimes just as stressful. Countries turned into cities. Cities turned into housing. Housing turned into daily agendas. And 8 months later, 20 pages of itinerary, 200 pounds of luggage, 5 passengers checked into their first flight.

My only twinge of regret is for the missionary son we're leaving behind. He assures me that he's where he's supposed to be and happy that he's there. I'm sure he'll forgive us. He'll have to have faith that we'll plan an adventure for him too someday. And why not? This trip proves that his mom is not just a dreamer and a planner, she's a do-er.

I hope to keep friends and family updated here as the summer progresses, but I make no promises. I'll be packing a lot of memories and miles into the days.