We have been back home a few weeks now and our hilarious road trip is just one nice memory amongst others. It is good to be home for a chance. Unpack our belongings, wash the laundry, see our friends and neighbors etc. You know the thrill.
But I can’t help but wonder. I enjoy reading numerous travel blogs and they really make it seem like they are traveling non-stop. 24/7. How on earth do they do it? All the bloggers I am following actually have families. And I mean, it is quite clear to any reasonable person that nobody (with a family!) can be traveling all the time. There’s all this stuff we have to do, like adults have to go to work, kids have to go to school, just for an example. And there’s the everyday life we all have to deal with. On top of it all, this traveling stuff is also pretty darn expensive.
Somewhere in between trying to calm down the two screaming little ones, unloading the laundry machine and trying to cook a decent meal it hit me – the King of All Ideas. Maybe I could just ask them. And so, in between the next crisis with the little monster and monstress and loading up the dishwasher, I actually managed to pull out my iPad, sign in on Facebook and write a not-so-well-formed message to my blogger colleagues.
I’m never caught up with my posts 😂 I work a full time job, kids in sports and other activities. And trying to plan for upcoming trips. I just have a list of posts I want to write and it’s longer than my husband’s to do list.
Nicole Sweeney (https://affordablefamilytravel.com/)
Ok, that sounds pretty familiar. Only difference is that I am too much of a seize-the-moment-type as a writer. I don’t have any post lists, if you must know. I just write whatever seems to amaze me at the moment. Diary-like. So maybe I should change my game plan in this field and start actually planning some more?
I plan the next trip! I’m always in planning mode. And in between, we find time to just be a family and have a normal life — the kids go to school and enjoy extracurricular activities, my husband and I have dedicated exercise routines, we spend time with grandparents, go to the movies and hang out without all of the fuss that comes with being on-the-go.
Andrea Traynor (www.mommygearest.com)
Cool! Another family travel blogger who also appears to have a normal life. At this point of reading the answers I got to my not-so-well-formed message in Facebook, my phone rings and I end up talking with my dear little daughter’s teacher. She wants a cake. For tomorrow. A cake??! Oh, shoot, I think, how I just LOVE baking (NOT!). But because little princess had a birthday and because they want to celebrate it at school, I naturally promise to make a cake. I mean, really good mothers always have all the ingredients for a cake at home and they were practically born with a whisk in their hands. No problem at all? Yeah, right.
I’m still in the learning phase so I’m constantly reading and learning. I do a lot of reading about blogs, seo, writing, how to use Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram. I’ve just discovered and am learning to use Tailwind and Canva. I also spend time being active on social media. When I’m not doing that I’m researching and planning our next trip in the spring. So far it’s between Marrakech, Hanoi and Athens.
Jeremiah Pittmon (https://smilesonarrival.com/ )
Oh my, this guy must have a housekeeper, I think somewhere in between reading the answers and mixing the flour plus other ingredients for the cake dough with my other hand. It is already almost midnight, which is way beyond my bedtime, and the alphabets are starting to jump in my eyes while reading. I am a bit worried about the cake, too, since I can’t be sure anymore which ingredients I added. I am just hoping I didn’t add salt instead of sugar…
When we’re not travelling we’re exploring locally – we live in a city that has new restaurants and attractions/activities opening on a weekly basis so that does make it easy. I think of it as writing from a local perspective and sharing those tips with other families visiting our city. We also act as city ambassadors for the tourism board here in Toronto and produce content for them occasionally.
Yashy Selvadurai Murphy (www.babyandlife.com)
Now that is something we are doing too! Exploring locally can be a lot of fun, and I have not lived in this country that long, so I still have plenty of new places to go and explore. To my great relief, the cake turns out okay and I can finally drop my mommy-working-gloves for the day. Off to bed. Just to find out that my pillow has been conquered. By who else than little prince Charming, who’s happily sleeping in my bed. I sigh and push him over a little bit, trying to make myself as comfortable as possible. It is not that many hours anyway before I have to get up again…
But the question remains. And leads me to thinking: Do I want my blog to look like I am traveling all the time? No, I think I’ll leave it as it is. Life itself is valuable. Also the life that happens behind the scenes.
Comments
My blog looks like I travel all the time simply because it takes me so long to write the posts once I’m back I’m literally never caught up! Normal life gets in the way all the time and I’m perfectly happy with that!
This sounds like my life! Always researching the next trip with a long list of to do items and very little time between toddler naps. The life of a family travel blogger!
Interesting post. Yes, it does often seem like people are travelling non-stop! I am mostly working when we are not travelling- work hard, play hard! Haha
Exploring locally is always fun too!