It’s The Same Old Song

My alarm goes off at 5:00 a.m. and I start with a quick 20 minutes on the elliptical machine before taking my Golden Retriever mix, Bailey, on her morning walk. Coffee, breakfast, shower, packing lunches, and getting my son off to school before heading to the office. Wake and repeat. 

Do you ever feel as if your life is on autopilot? As the Four Tops sang, “It’s the same old song”. You spend your entire adult life creating a career, buying the perfect house, running to meetings, dropping the kids at their sporting events, only to feel as if you are stuck in the same old grind every day. Are you left searching for the secret to happiness?

Autopilot Life

I am a member of a law enforcement family.  My father is law enforcement, my husband and all of his siblings are law enforcement, and I am in law enforcement. Crazy hours, dinners on the go, holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries missed are our normal. We have seen our brothers killed in the line of duty, the worse of society, and the best of society. 

We collect memories. Not the good kind, either. I am guilty of taking life for granted.  Aren’t we all? When is the last time you really took the time to appreciate what you have, the people in your life, and the world around you? It is time to stop buying, start living, and see the world!

New Goals

In 2007, my world changed. I gave birth to a little boy. Life was no longer about me. I had new goals, I started to collect memories, the good kind! His first steps, his first tooth, first day in Kindergarten, first surgery, first stitches–the memories quickly passed.

As the stages of my son’s childhood flew, my husband and I realized we were caught up in everyday life and again we were taking our new life as parents for granted as we had done before. Would our son have positive memories of his childhood that would last forever? Childhood is over in a blink of an eye. What will he remember about his childhood? Will he remember all his parents did was chase the American dream of money, power, and success? Or will he remember the time we spent together?

Stop Buying

The American lifestyle is BUY, BUY, BUY. We buy the latest toys and video games so that our children can have more than what we had growing up. We purchase every cool new gadget to make life easier, to entertain our kids, only to to turn around and do it all over six months later when the newest technology is invented. What would happen if we stop buying and start living?

Start Living

Instead of physical things, why not collect memories? Are you tired of buying gifts that clutter your home? We stopped giving physical gifts and instead now give the gift of experiences. We stopped giving gifts at Christmas. No more gifts for birthdays. The toys that are sitting in his room are not as special as the gift of a memorable experience. Most importantly, taking time away from the autopilot of life has become our priority.  Together, over the past few years, we have traveled locally within Florida but we have also traveled to Costa Rica, Alaska, Kentucky, Georgia, New England, and many other locations.

Related Article: How did we save money on shore excursions by avoiding the cruise ship’s excursions?

See the World

Traveling with children is not without its challenges.  Will he be entertained on the flight? Have I brought the stroller, car seat, his favorite toy?  How will we fit in nap time? It feels as if you are a pack mule because of the multitude of things smaller children need.  Children tend to be super excited about traveling which can turn into hyperactivity. 

Being a mother or parent does not mean you have to give up on traveling.   I have noticed many parents feel as if they either cannot travel because they have children or tend to travel without their kids. Understandably, traveling with children can be a bit stressful if you do not plan ahead. On the contrary, it also can be rewarding!

New Life

I will be the last person to give you any parenting advice, but I will pass on my experience.  My son has a room full of toys.  He is an only child so I can honestly say he was spoiled as a youngster.  Santa was extremely good to him.  As parents, we felt we needed to keep up with all of the other parents by buying him the best of the best. 

Looking back, did he play with the toys? Is there any meaning or sentimental attachment to anything in his room?  I can say without a doubt, the toys he “remembers” are ones he:

• (1). saved his money to buy himself,
• (2). has sentimental attachment to because they are from family members, and
• (3). got as a souvenir from a trip we took. 

In contrast, if you were to ask him about going to Costa Rica when he was ten years old, he can recount memory after memory.  If you were to ask my son what was his favorite gift, he would proudly say it was meeting a moose named Karen in Haines, Alaska.  Collect memories, it is always the perfect gift! Happiness comes from experiences, not material things.

Stop buying, start living, see the world

Traveling has taught me about the beauty of the world. It has taught me that taking a step back and relaxing is allowed. Most importantly, travel allows my family to collect memories that we can look back on for the rest of our lifetime. I want nothing more than to take my last breath knowing I lived this brief life to the fullest. I want to teach my son to have no regrets.  Work will be there when we return. 

I think Robyn Young said it best,  “We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us”. Collecting memories has become our family’s mantra.  We want our son to remember the time we were able to take a step back from the hustle and bustle of life and be a family.  We want the memories of seeing snow the first time, kissing a moose, or ziplining over a Costa Rican waterfall to be what he tells his kids about.  And we want him to share similar memories when he is a father.  Life is short! Take the trip. Buy the shoes. Eat the cake.  

What do you think?

Do you want to start collecting memories, too? Check out some of our Florida travel adventures.

Disclaimer:

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