I Almost Didn't Get in the Water

I’m back! I apologize for not posting for several weeks. July was full of travel and family visits, all of which were wonderful, but forced writing to take a backseat.

This summer marked our 20th anniversary so we celebrated big by traveling to Hawaii with our two teen sons. It was awesome.

As usual, when I come back from any travels, I’m filled with insights about life and parenting. Something about taking your family to a new destination always seems to offer a new perspective.

Traveling with two teen boys is a different type of travel — less sitting and more doing. They want adventure, to see everything, and do everything. My natural inclination, on the other hand, is to sit in a comfy chair (preferably with a good view) and read a book 🙂

Therefore, compromise is a big part of a trip like this one. We worked it out. They (and my husband who has their tendencies) got to experience a lot and I got some down time. Since this trip involved compromise, for me it meant I had to expand my comfort zone a bit.

Unlike my boys, I get nervous when embarking on a new activity. But they, along with my ever-patient husband, encouraged me to do several new things: snorkeling, hiking new terrain, and camping again (after a several year break from it).

As is the life of a parenting writer, I’m always looking for tidbits to share about parenting that comes from almost any experience. Based on my “outside my comfort zone” experiences, this lesson immediately became clear: