Out of the Mouths of Babes

The kids say stuff that stops me in my tracks sometimes for its depth of wisdom. I notice this way more on the road I think because I’m less distracted and more present. I’m sure they were equally wise before we left ;)

A recent gem from Hazel was an idea that there’s a phase in life when you’re young AND old. So you’re still kind of kid, and maybe want to do kid things, but you feel you should be growing up and that holds you back from doing kid stuff. You might be 15 and want to play in a playground but because you’re young AND old … you might not. Hazel’s POV was the shift happens around 13. She’s ten. On the other side of young AND old, is … old. This arrives around age 30 per Hazel. This is when you return to a more liberated place. You stop caring what people think so if you feel like swinging at the playground then you’ll do it. I loved her framing and the substance of the idea. Hazel is a wildly playful child. Loooooves to play. I can only imagine what it feels like when you look at most humans and notice they really aren’t very playful. You want to make sense of it. I like her optimistic perspective. I think creativity and play dies young for too many people. A lot of school systems unintentionally kill both. Gosh knows I’m trying to re-stoke my own playful creative fires.

A recent gem from Will was an idea that we’ve changed so deeply as a family from this journey that we probably don’t fully understand it. And we’ll never really know, because we’ll never know who we would have become without the journey. 100% yes. Once Will articulated this I can’t stop thinking about it. I’ve almost co-opted this idea as my own so I keep trying to remember and acknowledge the source :)

Hazel dropped another gentle truth while walking to a coffee shop today “Roadtrips, they are not really our thing”. Of course she is pointing this out in the middle of a roadtrip through New Zealand!! I know what she means. I think we’re running on empty and covering a lot of ground. RV travel has its upsides and downsides for sure. So wild to be so self-contained and portable, just go!! But the relentless going is a bit much. We’re packing in too much in part because we showed up with an RV rental, no plans, and a flight out of Auckland. Kind of skidding home after ten months away … and making plans on the go based on mood, weather, interests … which I love. But it’s almost infinite uncertainty at times. Certainty is a balm for humans. But uncertainty is part of our freedom here. We don’t have to plan anything in advance because it’s so quiet everywhere. Coming here at peak season would have destroyed us, but daylight is gone by 5pm and that changes what is possible. I’m so, so glad we’re here, doing this, and having this “cocoon time”. Plus I think the challenges are good for us. I’m deeply grateful that Justin is doing all the driving (that would destroy me) and the cooking.

Scenes below from the roads of the North Island. Sometimes feels like Wales or Northern California and even looked like Ontario for one hot minute. The familiarity of beloved rural landscapes.