I am in my lovely home state of Georgia now, and hopefully I can get back into the habit of blogging, although I don't think I ever established a habit of blogging! All this traveling has taught me few things. The first of which, is that people don't think kindly of a woman and two small children traveling by themselves. I got a lot of comments along the lines of "That poor woman" or "Where is your husband?". After explaining that I am a military spouse and don't always have the luxury of a husband who can serve as pack mule, I got the look. The one that simultaneously says "I am so glad I am not you, but I am so glad that you can say that with a smile". Then they usually ask if they can help! Thank you, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, for your help!
Just like with make-up, accessories and dessert, LESS IS MORE.
When you are the only adult traveling in a party of three, less is still too much. Kaelyn (3) is unreliable in her willingness to carry or roll her carry-on and depending on how long of a day, she could also be half asleep and crying as you make her walk from the plane to baggage claim (ie California trip). Anna (15 mos) isn't at an age where I trust her to walk, so she is carried along with my purse (aka diaper bag) and our book bag. I've tried to find ways to streamline it, and on our return trip I think I am going to be investing in carabiners...I really want the one called a Mommy Hook.
I went from four bags on our Cali trip, to two bags on our GA trip (not including Kaelyn's diaper bag). I think this gem of a hook would be great to hold my purse, Kaelyn's bag when she inevitable decides she's tired of carrying it, and our coats! That would free up a whole arm, and take me down to just one bag! I've also had the brainy idea of sewing on a ribbon loop on both ends of the girls blankets so that they can be carried this way as well. For those of you trying to figure out why I don't use a stroller, easy, when I'm the only one responsible for getting through security, a stroller is too much (I already take up 8 of those little trays, I can't be expected to get a stroller through as well). We also encourage/expect our girls to learn to walk with us in crowds from an early age.
Homeschooling and traveling takes a lot of PLANNING!
I don't generally plan our weekly lessons, we have an end goal set, but our daily goals are not planned. This makes it difficult to know exactly how much to bring and what items will need to be packed. I know, I know, I know, why not just stop homeschooling while I'm traveling? If we get out of the habit it would be difficult to reestablish it. That and our cousins are public school students who don't have the luxury of setting their own schedule, so we do homework with our cousins and no one is left out or distracted!
PRAYER, PATIENCE and a GOOD ATTITUDE!
I can't stress these enough. Kaelyn even hears these when she gets impatient with lines to get seated on the plane, "Kaelyn, when we fly we need to have lots of Patience and a very Good Attitude to have a great experience". I want my kids to understand that when life presents you with a tough or less than ideal situation (ie traveling alone with two small children), YOUR ATTITUDE affects whether you have a Good experience or a Bad experience, and you can choose to have a good one!
