We have been travelers for a while and lived in England for two years, Scotland for four and spent another year traveling in Europe, South America and Asia. Kids and COVID obviously put a spanner in things but we were keen to get back to it.

While in Scotland, one of the very few Aussies we met, had brought his family over for a couple of years. While he worked the kids when to school (late primary school aged) and then they spent six months driving round Europe in a converted post van. We caught up with him several years later in Australia and he said that his kids were really starting to appreciate their travels in high school, realising things like that some of their peers had never even been on a plane let alone out of the country.

Before children (AKA ‘BC’) we even talked about doing summers between the UK and Australia. Clearly not a very practical life but it would have been awesome. After having two babies (at once!) and before I went back to work we spent four weeks in Scotland (which was purely for us adults). It was great to see old friends and a bit of Scotland’s beauty (even if it was bloody freezing). Obviously it was quite different from the backpacking we’d done previously with lots of adjustments to be made.

Now the kids are just finishing primary school and COVID is over. So it’s a natural break for them and the perfect time for a family gap year. Not that the kids see it that way but as parents we must be the ones to look long term for the benefits (it’s a tough life 😉 ) and sometimes that means they will need to do things out of their comfort zone (and of course we get to travel again too!).

Of course, organising school and work has been a bit challenging at times but for us, this is a priority. We want to spend this time with our kids, we want them to see the world and to know that their little piece of it is just that – a tiny speck on this amazing planet. I am hoping that these adventures give them the skills to handle the teenage years and keep us close as a family. And give us all some amazing memories to look back on!