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We Are Going Around The World

Our family of six will be leaving for our worldschooling adventure starting in June 2020. I am going to plan, communicate, and commemorate via this blog.

“But I hate hiking.” – Dominic Bourne, the day we told him about our plans

The box above originally had an inspirational quote about travel that wordpress placed on my inaugural post. I didn’t know how to get rid of it so this quote seemed more appropriate.

The Bournes

Luca will be in seventh grade for our gap year. He wants to be an engineer when he grows up. He had a break down the other night about the ozone layer. I want him to see the world because I want him to know what he will be working to save. He is incredibly thoughtful and an abstract problem solver, he will change the world. He can read a full length novel in an afternoon and shuts the whole world out while he is immersed. He is on the lego robotics team for his school where he is learning about innovation and sustainability.

Dominic will be in fifth grade for our year abroad. He cares deeply about his best friend, his family, and is an avid fact-book reader. He is inherently brilliant and one of the funniest people I know. When we told him about our plan he immediately said he would not be joining us because he hates hiking and would prefer to explore more of the “great indoors” where things like Nintendo Switch and Destiny were invented. He is a true foodie and will lead the charge on experimental dining while we are abroad. He is in his community service club at school because he says it makes him feel good.

Elia will be in first grade while we are travelling. She is bold, strong willed, calculating, and imaginative. She sings songs for days with true emotion and talent. She can figure what is really happening in a given situation before the rest of us. She is a girls’ girl and makes friends easily- her best friend at school does not speak English yet but I have a feeling that will change in the next few months. She loves religious school and being at temple. She is learning to play tennis like her brothers and her racket is about her size.

Judah will be three years old when we embark. He knows what he wants and how to get it. He bosses the entire family around and parrots everything we say. He has the biggest mouth a baby has ever had- literally- he eats all the things. He has little had full of blond curls that makes him look angelic while he is biting you. I can’t wait to watch his personality emerge as he grows on our trip. He is currently big into mowing the lawn, cuddling, fruit snacks, and mommy.

Coffee is the mom. She is me. I am a nurse anesthetist, a CRNA. I have a degree in English and I love to write. I do a lot of yoga. I am so in love with my babies.

Adam is our super hero. He is a banker and does work we don’t quite understand. He works from home but doesn’t plan on working while we are traveling unless he is given the option to work less than he is working now. He has a degree in History and is the smartest man I know. He is an amazing teacher and can make any topic interesting. He is a gamer and this has given him an incredible grasp of world geography. He is the most patient person on Earth.

Continue reading “The Bournes” →

Lech Lecha

We are going to take a year off of work, school, being in the United States to travel around the world with our children.

So what made us do this in the first place? Adam and I were on a mini vacation to Sandy River in Farmville, VA to ride the High Bridge Trail, do a ropes course, and stay in a teepee. On the way out there we started talking about the Handmaid’s Tale. What would we do if we saw things happening like this (women’s rights rolled back, religious freedom denied, environmental destruction)? First of all, we would try to stop the problem before it happened by supporting legislators who acknowledged these issues and worked to combat them. Also, if we didn’t have children or they were grown and capable of making their our decisions- we would resist, we would fight for our country. But what if it happened tomorrow? Where would we go with these kids? I am from El Paso, TX. I would have felt safe in Mexico growing up but I no longer feel safe there. We have been to Canada once and its not far enough. We don’t know anyone anywhere else. So…let’s go see the world. This is the rambling, conspiracy-theory, worst case scenario conversation that led to the decision that changed our lives.

Adam’s first reaction to all of my crazy ideas is a firm NO. Can I have another baby? No. Can we move cross country? No. Can I to go to school for eight more years? No. But…it usually turns into a yes. There have been only two exceptions: Can I join the military? Can I go to med school? Both of these “no”s were sources of giant disagreements that ultimately led me to see where he was coming from. Both of those decisions would have left him alone to raise the million children I wanted/want. So when I seriously pitched a year around the world, he quickly backtracked from our Handmaid’s Tale spin-off and said no. It’s crazy! What about our retirement? Our careers? The kids’ school? All valid questions that we are still working through and we will continue to work through on this journey. The thing that ultimately won him over is that we are aggressively saving for retirement so that we can…travel the world. So why not just do a year of that now? With our kids? We can capture one year of their childhoods in a way we can’t while working and living everyday life.

The world is changing. It is physically changing- there is so much that we are able to experience and enjoy now will not be here in fifty years. The Great Barrier Reef, Venice, The Dead Sea, Glacier National Park, The Maldives, The Alps. I selfishly want to see these things, yes. More importantly, I want my kids to see evidence of what happens when you don’t respect and love this amazing gift God has given us. I want them to see it…and change it.

People are afraid of what is unknown, unfamiliar. We see that with the current immigrant crisis. It is easy to blame the lack of a job on someone coming in from the outside and stealing it. An outsider, an other. I want my kids to see that here is so much “other” out there and it is beautiful. Our country is a beautiful mix of people from everywhere else. We are so lucky to have a million other cultures affecting our surroundings. I ant to cultivate a love of “other” and a curiosity for the unfamiliar. It is only when we recognize the strength in diversity that we can have a truly powerful union. There is nothing fun about homogeneity. The week’s Torah portion from the week I began this blog was about Abraham being told by God to “leave your land, your birthplace, and the house of your father- and go to the land that I will show you.” Copy.

As I have told people about our plans, everyone asks if we have a blog to record this whole thing. So yes, now we do!