As a woman who never wanted kids, I wanted to form bonds with my 6 nieces. After all, they would be my lifelines as I age. I decided to stop getting them gifts for their birthdays or holidays or even graduation. I didn’t want to bring more meaningless stuff into their world, but instead I wanted them to see the world. I wanted to awake their wanderlust and thirst to experience new cultures and ways of doing things. So the answer was easy…I would give them the gift of travel. I told each of them that once they turned 16 years old I would take them anywhere in the world they wanted to go. Originally my thought was that it would give them something that I never had – a passport and a chance to travel internationally. However once I announced this mission and it settled in, I realized that it was giving them more than that – it gave them the chance to make their own decision. It got them thinking about the world and considering their own desires.
“I mouthed the words, “It’ll be ok.” through the front window of the car as we pulled away. After all, I was taking away my sister-in-law’s oldest daughter to a place halfway around the world, a place she knew very little about, a place that was completely foreign – this was a big step. Yet Michele confidently let us go and waved goodbye from the garage, however I absolutely realized that she was not confident inside.”
Read about my niece project travels – 5 down, and only 1 to go! We’ll be heading out in Summer 2018, so stay tuned!
If you want to know how to be a great first time international traveler – just ask my 17 year old niece Evie. She surprised me on so many different levels on our trip that she left me bursting with pride and reminded me of how important it is to see the world with fresh […]
Summer is about here – and it means kids will be on summer vacation – AND it means that another Niece Project is in motion! I’m starting to wonder if each niece is trying to ‘outdo’ the other. Considering we have some of the same genes, I can completely understand the desire to go further […]
This week marks the beginning of a new Niece Project! Megan and I left Minnesota and headed south for Lima Peru to start our journey. As soon as we got on the plane and took off I was reminded of how much fun these trips are for me. It didn’t take long before Megan had […]
“Wait a minute, I don’t have my backpack.” Megan said as she searched around the back section of the car where the other 3 bags were. Frank, her father, was driving us to the airport and had just remarked “We’ll be there with plenty of time” as we merged onto the freeway towards the airport. […]
I never wanted kids of my own. I’m not sure why, it just never appealed to me; taking care of someone, the diapers, crying, responsibility, and especially the toddlers – I don’t do well with toddlers. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t like kids – I love other people’s kids. Yes, they still may cry, […]
The man with the wooden flute plays a joyful high-pitched tune; the same few bars of notes over and over again. He is dressed in multi-color clothes, a warm woolen hat, and is accompanied by another man beating out the time on his little drum. The gro We simply follow the music as if he […]
“I’ve lost my desire to Snap Chat,” Megan proclaimed weakly. Now I knew I had a serious issue on my hands. Actually I knew it was rather serious the night before when she lay in the tent napping after our first day of hiking and her breathing would all of a sudden get rapid and […]
Taking the Inca Trail through the Sun Gate to Machu Picchu seems to be on everyone’s bucket list these days. The problem is that not everyone can go on the Inca Trail (even if you plan it months in advance) as there are only 200 tourist permits given out a day for the trail. If […]
I’m in the same place a decade later, sitting on the terraces of Machu Picchu. The scenery has the same awe-inspiring feel. And once again for the 2nd time I am left wondering ‘how did the Incas do that?’ as I gaze upon the stone architecture. There is a constant din of noise filling the […]
“The tarantulas are out all night so they won’t care if we are running a bit late,” our amazon jungle guide responded when I asked him if we could move back our night jungle hike in order to watch the World Cup USA/Portugal game. I was actually surprised at his answer for two reasons. First, […]
