A Little Background

I am the fourth child of a career army officer and, as such, have lived in many different places. Moving can certainly be a pain and many of those painful parts (such as bidding goodbye to friends, many of whom you may never see again) are difficult, if not impossible, to avoid. Other aspects of it can fall anywhere between onerous and enjoyable, dependent upon your outlook. Accordingly, the actual physical relocation of yourself and your family can either be a task or, as was often the case with my parents... an adventure. They had a knack for emphasizing the journey rather than the destination.

One of our relocations involved moving from Hawaii to Washington, D.C. Rather than return to the mainland and travel across the country, we spent six weeks traveling around the world. Although I was only 10 years old at the time (I'm much older now), I still can vividly remember most of that journey. That trip solidified the outlook on travel that I have to this day.

That trip was also among the many, many gifts that my parents gave us... I could not possibly pay them back for any of them. For one thing, my father is now deceased and my mom is not the type that would accept anything. I can, however, do something in a fashion similar to what a guy named Doug (who I have not yet met) describes as "paying it forward" .

Sooooo... in just under a year, my wife and I will give to our kids the same thing that was given to me back then. I hope they enjoy it as much as I think they will. I also hope that one day they might be inspired to do the same for their kids. If so, then what better way to say, "Thanks again, (and again and again) Mom & Dad!"