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September 20, 2013

What The Unexpected in Travel Teaches Kids About Life

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Driving out to the beautiful Catskills with images of apple picking and fall colors filling our heads. The kids are excited. I worked a whole week to get them there in preparation for the trip. My week at work has been tough, and for my husband as well. We wanted this.

Forty minutes into our trip, our car breaks down. Again. Last time that happened we were on our way to the airport for a long weekend at Myrtle Beach.

For obvious reasons, my husband and I are upset, annoyed, and highly inconvenienced. Our kids are reading us, observing us, and I realize, picking up cues from us. We’re stressed, they’re stressed. We’re annoyed, they’re scared. Like so many other moments in life, here is another where we can teach our children something really important about life.

So we breathe, and we smile, and we focus on how lucky we actually are.

We made it to our weekend in Myrtle Beach and it was fun. We pointed out to our children that although we felt a little stressed, we were very fortunate to be in the position to take cabs and pay for tow trucks and rental cars later on.

As I write this, we are staying in an über comfy suite at the Residence Inn. Not our original plan and about an hour and a half away from the beautiful mountain destination we were so looking forward to, but here we are: with warm beds, and space, and pizza on its way.girlgonetravel Though not knowing what is wrong with our car is stressful, perspective is important in travel and in life. Too often travelers lose sight of how fortunate they are at the slight inconvenience put in their way. They take for granted their ability to do something that not everyone can, and entitle themselves with all sorts of expectations and demands, and even if there is no particular person to blame, they will blame and insult whomever they see deserving of it.

Travel doesn’t always go well. Stuff happens. Flights get delayed, over sold, canceled. Hotels don’t always meet our expectations, restaurants sometimes sell bad food. How we deal with it is how we teach our kids to deal with it. How we treat those in customer service as well as other travelers, is how our children will learn to treat others in the future.

It’s not enough to travel around the world if you can’t teach your children to be good citizens of the world, by example.

I’m not going to sit here and say that I don’t sometimes lose my patience, but I always draw the line at treating others poorly…I mean, I have to be pushed really far for that to happen. When it comes to staying cool I need some work in that area, my husband is better at it than I. But if ever there was a motivation to chill out when things don’t go as planned it is my children who are able to look at the situation and go with the flow better than most grown ups I know.girlgonetravel

So, tomorrow we wake up to deal with our broken down car and try to figure out how to make it to our little weekend retreat. And man, oh man, aren’t we lucky? My kids think so too.

 

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Carol Cain

Brooklyn native Carol is happiest when on an adventure, whether close to home or farther away. She is a small business owner and travel writer. In addition to creating Girl Gone Travel, she is the Founder and Principal of Brave World Media, a social media marketing, communications, and branding agency. She's mom to three wonderful sons and wife to a handsome Irish/Scot. She lives, works, and plays in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of NY.

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2 Comments
  • Roni Faida
    October 5, 2013

    I couldn't agree more. I don't have kids but I am with my nieces and nephew often and I agree that we set the tone for their expectations. I was a Tour Manager for years for a huge family travel company and you would be amazed (or maybe not) at how some parents would react when things wouldn't go as planned. The kids would then take their cues from their ridiculous, I mean, lovely parents and act the same way. Good on you for recognizing your behavior and not being ok with staying the same. More parents need to be like that.
    My recent post Public Transportation From Dublin Airport

    Reply
    • caincarol
      Roni Faida
      October 8, 2013

      Oh, I've seen plenty of adults, with and without kids, behave insanely ridiculous and entitled and so, so rude. I want to raise a better community of travelers and citizens of the world. I have to say, when I see a 40 year old or any adult acting like an ahole while traveling, I totally blame the parents for failing to teach them better and of course them for failing to learn ways in which they can be better.

      Reply

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About me

Hi! I'm Carol! I am an award-winning travel blogger, a keynote speaker, and the Principal and owner of Brave World Media, a social media marketing, communications, and branding agency. I a wife to a handsome Irish/Scot and a mom to 3 sons and 2 puppies. Welcome to my blog where I share stories of my travels and professional public relations insights and advice. Thank you for reading and for your support!

Carol Cain

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I’ve been a mom for a really, really long time. I’ve been a mom for a really, really long time. As the oldest of all my many, many siblings, caring for littles started very early in my life. I have cared for, changed diapers for, fed, rocked to sleep, booboo-kissed, advised, reprimanded, worried for, been frustrated and given anxiety by more kids than I care to count. Because I started caring for children so young, I was convinced I wouldn’t have any of my own. But I had my three beautiful boys.

I miss the little babies they were, sometimes to the point where it aches, but I love seeing the men they are becoming. I am most grateful to them for the ways in which they continue to help me discover more about myself both as a mom and beyond motherhood. My identity was never fully in being a mom, I never wanted that for myself and they all have respected, accepted, and given me space for that. And I love them unconditionally for it. Because as they start to find their own paths in life, I am not left with an empty anything, instead I find myself with a life fulfilled. Of which being their mom has been the greatest adventure.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing mother figures, caregivers, and humans who have provided for another in loving, maternal ways regardless of biology and traditional roles and societal expectations. ♥️ May you find fulfillment, love, and joy in the ways you have tried to give to others who needed it most.
The Village of Monticello is located right off NYS The Village of Monticello is located right off NYS Route 17 (future I-86), mid-way between New York City and Binghamton. It is also the largest community of the Sullivan County Catskills. Like many rural downtowns across the U.S., Monticello has experienced some hardships. However, what I found especially lovely was how there is a vibrant BIPOC community, especially Latino, thriving with their small businesses and eateries keeping Downtown Monticello alive.

Imagine my delight to have seen several Dominican- Puerto Rican eateries serving and sounding like a slice of home. Last night’s treat was had at @nellys_latin_restaurant. 

Roasted pernil, grilled chicken, rice and peas, yuca, sweet plantains, ox tail, goat….the list goes on and on. Right here in Monticello, NY. I ate and washed it all down with a cool papaya shake, just like from the islands.

So, if driving through, be sure to check out downtown Monticello for some good Caribbean eats…and wait till I tell you about breakfast!!! Thanks @nickfingdavis for the find! 🇩🇴🇵🇷

#monticellony #catskills #goodeats @sullivancatskills
Nothing like the beautiful golden hour in @flxwine Nothing like the beautiful golden hour in @flxwinecountry.🌞

#myflx
These days you will find me walking in the rain, c These days you will find me walking in the rain, chasing waterfalls, and anything nature filled. Such is spring in the Finger Lakes 🌷

#fingerlakes #lifeinthefingerlakes #cascadillagorge #ithacany
I sometimes can’t believe how easily I fell in l I sometimes can’t believe how easily I fell in love with this life.

There was a time when my DREAM was to be one of those old NYC ladies living in a 4 story walk-up, and who people would often see pulling around her shopping cart from market to market. And while I long for a NYC that barely exists anymore, I do have to say I am still often surprised at how dramatically that dream has changed.

Now I dream of uninterrupted days spent tending to my garden and growing food and other pretty greenery I never knew I could. Or figuring out new recipes and sitting by the fire with my puppies on my lap.

I crave mornings made foggy by the adjacent lake, and early wake-ups by the sound of the passing horse and buggy on Sunday mornings.

Yeah. The world is big and there is so much I want to see still but I also love this place where it feels like nothing else matters, not even the mud on my hands and boots.

📸 Gardening bliss on a rainy day at @theflxcottage.
Yesterday, we headed to @tanglewood_nature_center Yesterday, we headed to @tanglewood_nature_center to scout a photography location. The focus was work. But as we took the 3 mile hike to the overlook, through the mud, in the rain…and the sun, because spring, and as the birds sung, the woodpeckers pecked, and the deer strutted, I felt myself feel lighter, happier, and at ease. With just a walk, in this beautiful place. Alongside my beautiful partner.

If you call the Finger Lakes home, I hope you can also appreciate it and the gifts it offers, even when we least expect it. And if you need a reminder, just go outside.

#tanglewoodnaturecenter #fingerlakes

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