For as long as I can remember I have wanted to travel the world, I have never really known how I would do it, over the years I have had mad ideas to cycle around the world and also read the book by Rosie Swale Pope “Just a little run around the world” a story about her 5 year run around the world which made me think that anything is possible.
When I was in my teens I messed up at school and ended up taking evening classes and becoming a mature student in college after I had had my first child, to try and better myself. Travel was not an option then because of my daughter and my studies but was always there in the back of my mind as a far away dream, one day, maybe one day. I went on to have another 4 children who became my world, my dream of having a family was always bigger than my travel dream.
During the time spent bringing up my children, my husband and I talked about travelling many times, in different ways, we discussed taking the children and going to live in France, we talked about taking them to Australia and hiring a camper van to see it all, we even talked about taking a whole year out with the children and sharing exciting far away places with them but there never seemed to be a right time, when it seemed ok to take one child out of school, another had exams, in the end we decided to opt for exciting holidays with our brood.
We took them camping in France, Italy and Spain, went on the Santander ferry which was great fun, driving through the countries which was always part of the excitement, seeing the real towns and villages not just the touristy parts. We took them to Iceland, New York for New Years Eve and then Niagara Falls all in one holiday.
We did the obligatory Florida Disney holiday and got caught up in Hurricane Charlie, the first category 5 hurricane in ten years. Sharing those times with the children will always be special to me, however, now that my children are all grown up and have lives of their own, what becomes of me??
My youngest son is about to join the army, leaving me child less, for the last few years I have travelled on my own to various countries for study and for fun, my husband and I split up 8 years ago and during that time I have been to China, staying in Shanghai, Beijing and Nanjing to study at a Chinese Medicine hospital in Nanjing. I have enjoyed an all expenses paid trip to Dubai as part of a choir to sing at the Rugby Sevens tournament, which was being filmed for a tv programme called “Codi Canu” meaning Get up and sing. Bucharest, Rome, Egypt have also been wonderful places to visit as well as special places in the UK including the Highlands of Scotland.
For many years I have joked that when my youngest leaves I am off to travel the world, never really knowing if I would, because I never really had enough money. Last year due to illness I lost my business and all the money I had was in the business so my chances were slimmer and my dream was slipping further and further away from me. Maybe one day?
What to do now all my children are young independent people, nothing ever prepares you for the massive hole in your life when your children become their own people, when they were children they were mine but now they belong to themselves, I was merely borrowing them.