not all who wander are lost.

I am a traveler by heart. I have a restless nature, in some ways, I guess. That sort of lifestyle isn't really conductive with 4...or 5... kids. 5 Kids. 5 Small Children. That really is a lot, if we're honest.

I googled my title quote just now, I wanted to see what the rest of it was. I knew it was J.R.R Tolkien, but that's about it. I came across a blog from 2005 (as in, the found post was from 2005, and the last post made was also in 2005). As I read the post, I realized something. Blogs used to be different. They actually used to be journal-ish. I liked that. I remember reading random blogs of people I didn't know just because it was interesting to see what their lives were like. It was kind of like people-watching at the airport (another favorite pastime of mine). I would even bookmark the most interesting. Not saying that there aren't any that are like that any more, just less. Now it seems that blogs are like reference books. At least the ones I happen upon. DIY projects, recipes, how-to's, etc... And there is nothing wrong with that, it's very useful at times. I find lots of cool things and yummy recipes that way. Just an observation that I never thought about before.

Back to traveling. I miss it. I miss the freedom of being able to do it. I shouldn't think about it too much, and I really don't. But just every now and then. A friend started posting pictures of a trip to Paris. It has been fun looking through them and living vicariously through her. When I was younger, I think I just assumed that traveling would automatically be part of my life, forever. I didn't really think about money/job/family/logistics etc. I just assumed it would happen. But it doesn't. You need money. And if you have kids that will be traveling with you, you need LOTS of money. Like, unimaginable amounts. And if you have kids and plan on traveling without them, then that just brings another string of problems and complications. Especially when you have more than one kid. It just doesn't happen. Not big, out-of-the-country type trips. Day-trips, occasionally. One-week-per-year vacation at the beach. Out-of-state trips, very rarely (like once every 4 years). It's ok though. I hope/imagine that one day, when my kids are older, we'll have our chance. But until then, our local little family adventures will have to suffice.