When you’re young you get used to having your freedom. You enjoy it. And as you develop your career, you have an income and you do some things, like travel.
My wife Jennifer and I had only been dating for about eight months when we decided to get out of town and visit Cabo San Lucas Mexico. To just go and do and learn about each other… that was a great trip.
For our honeymoon we spent 10 days in Tahiti. We were worlds away. I love that feeling of getting out to the islands and away from the mainland.
In our first years of marriage we stayed busy. We’d hop on a plane and enjoy short stays in Colorado, the Bahamas and Grand Cayman. But I’m a Midwest kid, so it also felt exotic to fly to Houston, Texas to visit Jennifer’s family. Texas is its own country. A totally different culture than what I was used to. The trips, including time in Austin, helped me be more appreciative of different cultures — even within our own country.
Jennifer and I were about 30 when our first child Griffin arrived. That was three years ago. Our second son Colin is now about 17 months old. You marry and have children and for awhile you don’t get to do anything you want any time you wish. You have different priorities. But that doesn’t mean you have to give up travel.
Jennifer already is gung-ho about taking our boys to all 50 states. I haven’t done it yet, and neither has she. We’ll do it with our boys. That can’t happen right now, but we’ve already started to make our plan. First, we’ll do a lot of little things state-side, and then as the boys get older we’ll plan longer trips that may take us beyond North American borders.
Not that the boys have kept us home all the time. We don’t fret about travel. We say we’re going and grab the kids and take off. In the fall of 2011 we traveled with them to Colorado. And Jennifer flew with both boys to Memphis to see her sister. They’re veterans, if not exactly globetrotters — yet.
If having children has restricted us for now, we wouldn’t have it any other way. In fact, maybe it has helped us fully appreciate what a day trip from our suburb to the city of Chicago can do for the spirit. As summer approaches, we’re excited, because there is so much to do in this great city, including visits to the Lake Michigan water front.
But I’ll tell you a secret. Sometimes we don’t take the kids.
Last December my parents stayed with Griffin and Colin so that Mom and Dad could enjoy a couple nights downtown. We stayed at the same hotel we booked for our wedding night. On that glorious occasion we promised that we’d always go back to the hotel — every year — just to enjoy each other. Intimacy is a culture too: A fascinating, rejuvenating experience that keeps us young and eager for more adventure.
Jeremy Hayes
Print Entrepreneur
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