travel

Why make traveling a priority?

October 2, 2019 /

As you might have noticed with my blog in the past 6 months since I have been writing, our family makes vacations and traveling a priority. Why, you might ask, do we sacrifice in certain areas to make this possible. Here are some reasons why!

Making memories

Instead of buying big game systems, big gifts or new cars, lots of clothes, we like to save our money to make memories. That might be a trip to the beach, a visit to a new city such as New Orleans, a new country, or a weekend in the mountains. Toys will be forgotten but our children will always have the memories of these childhood travels and adventures to cherish.

trolley

Quality family time

My husband works hard to provide for our family which sometimes includes traveling during the week so weekends and vacation time are special for us. We like to have time away from distractions, work and stress to renew ourselves, reconnect with each other and enjoy life! Being away from the house with less distractions allows us to spend some quality time together. Doing fun things, visiting new places, playing together gives us the opportunity to talk, enjoy each others company and relax!

Exposure to other cultures

The children have been to several countries: Canada, France, Spain, Italy and Republic of Georgia (some not all since they were not born). Going to a country like the Republic of Georgia was a wonderful experience to show them an Orthodox country, an Eastern European country and a country full of culture! It was an amazing time! The children continue to talk about it and wonder if we will go back.

 

My childhood

I think one of the reasons I personally like to travel is influenced by my childhood. My family moved to France when I was 2 and we lived in the South of France 14 years, 7 years on the Atlantic side and 7 years on the Mediterannean side. We then lived in Mexico City for 2 years before moving back to the US. See my posts about growing up in France and Mexico.

I enjoyed growing up in France and would love to go back and live there for a couple of years. I know my  youngest sons would probably enjoy that experience while it would be harder on my teenager. So every 5 years or so, I get the itch to go back to France. I do keep in touch with 2 friends and my Godparents there to so I love every opportunity to spend time with them. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed our 2 weeks there this summer and how I did not want to come back home! Speaking French, going to the local bakeries, visiting with childhood friends, enjoying a different enviromment was good for my soul!

So there you have it, some of the reasons why our family travels! We do have friends in different parts of the US that we also like to visit every year or so too, so that allows us to visit new places in our country too.

A bientôt!

Please take a minute to subscribe to the blog to receive an email letting you know when a new post goes live. I usually post Monday, Wednesday and Friday but sometimes have a bonus post during the week. You can also follow me on instagram @chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com

I link up with these fabulous blog link ups!

 

38 Comments

  • Bojana

    October 2, 2019 at 8:38 am

    You and I are of the same school of thought. Several years back, we were still using the old TV which was perfectly good. My in-laws couldn’t understand why we choose to go on a trip rather than get a new TV, exact wording, “A trip is just a few days, and a TV you can enjoy every day.” I couldn’t get them to see exactly what you described in this post. Though we don’t travel as much as we’d like, we do get to get out locally to experience culture, adventure, a sense of connection to place and family time. Love this post!!!

    bosbodaciousblog.blogspot.ca

    • mimifce

      October 2, 2019 at 8:04 pm

      Thank you, Bojana! I do need to start planning more outings around here especially now that the weather is supposed to cool off. Our little state has some pretty cool places to visit too!

  • jodie filogomo

    October 2, 2019 at 12:24 pm

    I do think the memories are the best reasons. Because over time our “things” can get lost or broken, but our memories are always there.
    XOXO
    Jodie

  • Mother of 3

    October 2, 2019 at 4:30 pm

    I like to travel for the memories and the new experiences too. I love exposing my boys to other foods, cultures, and ways of life (though my husband is extremely reluctant to travel outside the US so we mostly focus on visiting different parts of the country to check out the local culture and foods!).

  • Lindsey Puls

    October 2, 2019 at 7:29 pm

    I completely agree with this! Life should be about experiences and not things – we are all for making sacrifices in material aspects of life to enjoy traveling together more. I had no idea you grew up in France and also lived in Mexico City. How fantastic!

    • mimifce

      October 2, 2019 at 7:57 pm

      Thanks, Lindsey! I live through vicariously through some of your adventure that would be difficult for us to do with kids!

  • Julie | This Main Line Life

    October 3, 2019 at 12:47 pm

    I really wish we traveled more with the kids as they’ve grown up. I really agree that it’s important and fun to expose them to different cultures and different places. I don’t think it’s something my Husband is too excited about so it’s always been a battle.

    • mimifce

      October 4, 2019 at 9:58 am

      I can’t help myself, if I can make it happen financially, we will continue traveling! Such wonderful times and memorires!

  • Mica

    October 3, 2019 at 4:53 pm

    It’s wonderful you travel so much with your kids! We weren’t big travellers before kids so haven’t done much with them but I really noticed the difference with our Europe trip – they practiced some french, they started saying that all their trains were stopping at different countries for “stations”, haha. It’s been nice to see how much they enjoyed it!

    Hope that you are having a great week 🙂 I’ve just posted a giveaway on my blog!

    • mimifce

      October 4, 2019 at 9:56 am

      My 8 year old reall enjoys it and my oldest is kind of funny because he was complaining about traveling the past 3 years in a row and then I mentioned a possible trip next summer and all of a sudden, he decides oh yes, I think I would like to go!

    • mimifce

      October 4, 2019 at 9:55 am

      Yes, I get a little selfish with our vacation time but thankfully he does get a good amount of vacation days!

  • Amy Johnson

    October 5, 2019 at 11:26 am

    That’s awesome! My husband is away from home 70 hours a week too, and when he is home there is so much work to be done. So in order for us to have any quality time together we have to travel.

    • mimifce

      October 5, 2019 at 1:12 pm

      Exactly! We actually were not planning anything big next year but looks like we are going to make something happen, thankfully he gets a lot of vacation time so we definitely take advantage of it!

  • Brooke of Passport Couture

    October 5, 2019 at 7:58 pm

    I completely agree with everything you say. Traveling, whether it’s international or somewhere near your own backyard, can open your eyes to the world and give you a better sense of who you are. It also is a great way to reconnect with your family and make new friends. You never know what you’ll find when you step outside your door!

    • mimifce

      October 6, 2019 at 8:10 pm

      That is right! We are looking forward to exploring St Louis in the spring and we enjoy the occasional day trips too.

    • mimifce

      October 8, 2019 at 9:06 am

      There sure is! My son would love to visit Thailand where my brother lives at the moment but not sure that we will make that happen.

  • Grace

    October 9, 2019 at 5:45 pm

    Wow, you guys have traveled so much! That’s amazing. That’s so interesting you grew up in so many places Mireille, what an incredible experience! I couldn’t agree more on these reasons for prioritizing traveling, especially the culture one. That’s definitely a goal in my life and I hope to continue that when I have my own family one day. I can’t wait to see where you guys go next!

    Miles of smiles,
    Grace

    gracefulrags.com

    • mimifce

      October 9, 2019 at 7:54 pm

      Well we just might go back to the republic of Georgia next summer: looking at tickets now and hoping they go down in price in the next 2 months. Since it would be our 3rd time we would explore new parts of the country there. It is feasible with a family, just have to make it a priority and not spend in other areas!

  • ADA FURXHI

    October 14, 2019 at 6:51 pm

    There is nothing more enriching to the heart than traveling and vacations and you are lucky you have traveled and seen so much. Very good for you Mireille. Great post. =)