I’ve always been fearless when it comes to adventures and traveling: as a young, single, woman I traveled to New York City (twice), Chicago, and Jamaica with one of my friends; I have been skydiving…twice; and I have jumped off the Stratosphere. Unfortunately, that bravery seems to have disappeared the moment I became a mom.
I have since become the biggest worrywart around.
I may see the glass as half full, but I can also see the possibility of that glass having a crack in it that could potentially cut my daughter. At times, my fears and anxiety are so overwhelming that I prefer to just lock my daughter and myself in our house to keep her safe in our little bubble.
My anxiety came to an all-time high last year after the mass shooting in Las Vegas, where my husband had been just a few days prior. This, of course, occurred in the midst of the terrorist attacks in London, a place we were scheduled to visit just a few weeks later.
I would be lying if I said I didn’t consider cancelling the trip and staying in our bubble. I was so worried there would be a terrorist on the airplane or a suicide bomber at one of the many tourist attractions we planned to visit. It made me sick with worry to think about something happening to our daughter.
I realized, though, that is not how I wanted to raise my daughter.
I want her to be fearless, brave, and adventurous just like I once was! It’s my job to show her the world outside of our safe bubble and cultivate her love of travel.
I did everything I could think of to get through the anxiety of the trip. I prayed, practiced yoga, and talked about my fears with some of my friends. Thankfully, right before the trip, I realized that I couldn’t protect my daughter from every danger in life. By worrying myself sick about our vacation, I was not only hurting myself, but I was also hurting her.
I was, quite literally, depriving her of the world.
After all, there is a much higher likelihood of us getting in a car wreck within a few mile radius of our home than there is of dying in a terrorist attack.
I made the choice to not live in fear. I made the choice to show our daughter a part of the world that I, myself, had never even seen. And, I refused to allow the evil in this world to keep us concealed in our bubble.
I’m so incredibly thankful that I overcame my fears and we went on our vacation, because it was the trip of a LIFETIME!
There are so many good people in this world and so many beautiful places I want her to see. I will do my best to raise her to be fearless, brave, and adventurous; to be the good that overcomes the evil.
I’m happy to say that in her almost two years of life, my daughter has been to Arizona (twice), Illinois, Arkansas, Texas, England, France, and Oregon. I cannot wait to show her more of the world!