We have been traveling nearly nonstop since....well, since we first started dating, really. Now, though, our wings are getting tired and we need to rest.
So! Seven cities, four countries, two continents, and five weeks to go until we are staying put for... an entire two or three months! It will be the longest homestay we've ever had and it will be glorious.
That's all true, but it's also a little tongue-in-cheek. I realize that's barely "sitting still" for most people, but it's a start for us. We've decided to limit our kids' travel to 6 weeks this coming year - they need deeper roots. We do, too, for that matter, but it's going to be harder on us - we have great friends and loving family members spread out throughout the country and much of the western world and we're used to visiting them whenever we can make a trip work into our schedule.
It's time now, though, to be a bit more deliberate with our lives and our travels. One of the exciting aspects of our new plan is that I'll be able to purposefully block in travel to new and exotic locations more often, rather than doubling back on the same locales time and time again.
For instance, we've starting planning a trip to Mexico for this autumn and I'm really looking forward to delving into a new culture and practicing my Spanish. I think we'll invite some of those amazing friends and families we're usually traipsing around to see. Two birds, one stone?
Speaking of birds, this little bird is a painted paper collage I made a year or so ago. She looks how I feel right now - tired, expectant, and a little bewildered!