Full Circle
People ask: Was it worth it? Would you do it again?
Yes. Without question. Without hesitation.
We are glad to be home, among family and friends, but we recognize how fortunate we were to have had this trip together.
The Wide Wide World has been an important part of our lives for nearly two years now. But this journey is complete. It’s time to imagine what’s next, then make it happen.
To those who have followed our adventure, shared our posts with others, given us advice, made insightful comments, sent supportive emails or simply held us in your prayers: We thank you. We’ve felt your support every step of the way.
And I hope you guessed our dirty little secret: If we can make a trip like this anyone can.
All you have to do is look for the Signs.
14 comments
Thank you.
Thank you for sharing. I will miss stalking you from my laptop.
Thank you for coming to visit. We missed you as soon as you left.
Our turn to come & see you – thats what we are imagining next & planning to make happen.
Love, Kara & Rob
I want to thank you all for your wonderful stories, beautiful pictures and the videos that made me laugh out loud and the ones that made me cry. I am not sure how I feel about the end of your posts. They have become a big part of my day and I will miss them but as you said, “It’s time to imagine what’s next, then make it happen.” I look forward to the next adventure as the James Gang rides on!
Craig, Dani, Caroline, and Conor,
Many thanks for all you did to include us in your grand adventure. You did not go alone and we never felt left out.
Though the beginning of this journey implied an end, I do feel the loss of this contact with you, and I feel sad about not seeing WWW in my morning mail for a while.
Love to all of you, Shirley
Kara, we are SO looking forward to that future visit. Craig is excited to show Rob how they party on the Eastern Shore!
Doug Spiro, Most Loyal Commenter, I don’t think we could have made it without you! Sometimes I imagined you were the only reader…
And Shirley, your thoughtful words in support of our trip were so cherished. Let’s talk over a food-laden table. Maybe with a glass of wine!
Sigh, I know that you all had to come to terms that it was over…but I didn’t think that I would have to! Sigh, is this the end of the posts?
How about writing a book about your adventure?
Welcome home! Your trip was a real inspiration for all of us families who spent the past year living vicariously through you. There is no greater gift you could have given your children than the experience of truly learning about other cultures, peoples and parts of the world. We hope to, one day, follow in your footsteps!!! Congratulations!
Welcome back! You guys are an inspiration.
Thank you for sharing your journey with all of us office-bound travellers! Will miss your stories – and hope to hear more in the future!
Welcome back home!
Just realised you must be back – and here you are!! Hope you have fun settling, your previous post made me gasp as we have had just such a night since we came home. We are amazed by how much the children remember and want to talk about, but at the same time carry on with their friends as if they saw them last week! What a talent!
A year on we have just had school reports – they have been praised by their teachers for their maturity, problem solving and leadership skills as well as their progress in academis subjects. They are 9 and 6 and are whole people already, and being with them 24/7 has made us whole too.
Enjoy…
All love Rachel and CFS xxxx
My husband and I are just now nurturing the seeds of our future trip with our kids. Because it’s still 3 years off, it’s a beautiful secret we’re keeping and your blog helps us feel like we’re sharing it a little – with someone. Please do post again now and then about your reentry and future plans.
I guess I’m late for the party, but as a young family planning an RTW trip with target travel years as 2015, I am very happy to see other families are doing the same. We’re not so crazy after all!
A superb trip, a great blog, and I salute you for your daring and adventure. My only comment would be your statement “if I can do it, so can you.” While theoretically true, most people reading your blog are not in a position to take one or two years off from home, family, work. Does that mean then that the types of adventures you described so vividly are beyond their reach? Absolutely not. My wife and children and I did a variant of what you did–an around the world trip (Australia to Zimbabwe, Mauritius to Mongolia, Turkey to Tibet) but in 3-4 month chunks. While most of us cannot get years off, we can get months off (e.g., summer vacation for a teacher) and can use those months to find a short-term overseas posting–what I call a working vacation. Our family has been on 15 of these working vacations and they provide a superb cultural and professional experience but, and this is the best part, you come back to your regular home, job, and paycheck. I describe how we did it in my blog and I would invite all of your readers to check it out.
Congrats, and welcome back!
Michael
Wow. As a young adult, the Bethesda Magazine article “Around the World in 300 Days” made me laugh, cry and gasp. Taking a trip around the world with my husband and children (all of which I have yet to acquire) is a very real dream of mine. The fact that you gave that opportunity to your children says a lot about who you are as people. Thank you for sharing your story. Perhaps we will be seeing a book in the near future….?
Thank you for sharing your adventures in this blog and making such a journey seem within reach for parents who otherwise wouldn’t even dream about it. We travel with our kids… but are novices compared to what you’ve accomplished. Bravo!