It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience that most of us only dream of.
But Heather Greenwood Davis is actually doing it — she’s taking her family of four (husband Ish, sons Ethan and Cameron) for a year-long, around-the-world adventure. And she’s going to document the experience both on her blog, GlobetrottingMama.com, and right here on CityLine.ca.
So where did the idea come from? In her recent appearance on CityLine, Greenwood Davis explained how it all started.
“We’ve been together for a long time,” Greenwood Davis said of her relationship with Ish, “and years ago we said, ‘One day we’re going to travel around the world.’ Then the kids came. And I looked at him and said, ‘One day we’re going to travel around the world, kids or no kids.'”
The opportunity to take the trip arose when Ish’s work offered him a four-for-five arrangement, where he would work for four years with a 20 per cent pay deduction and that fifth year he would take off but at that same rate of pay. That put a finite date on the travel plans, she said, and they were able to do it. With their sons now eight and six years old, the time was right.
Packing was less complicated than one might think, Greenwood Davis remarked.
“For a year of travel you’re not going to be able to pack for every day. That’s just crazy. You have to let go of the notion that you’re going to be able to bring your favourite shoes and outfits,” she said.
As far as taking the kids out of school for a year goes, the mother of two says she and her husband will be home-schooling the boys, and they’ll go back into the appropriate grade the following year. They’ll have a tablet device on the road with them so that they can read and do math, and they’ll learn an incredible amount along the way simply by experiencing and learning about the culture, geography and history and the places they visit.
For more on the Globetrotting Mama and the family’s itinerary for the year ahead, visit her blog here. And be sure to check back on CityLine.ca for travel dispatches from Heather Greenwood Davis.