There have been a few key moments in my travelling life when I’ve kind of thought, yes, I’m a traveller and I can go anywhere I want. If you’re not “a traveller” (whatever I really mean by that) this may not make sense, but for me it’s a very powerful moment that kind of gives me the feeling that I can do anything in life – not just travelling.
Anyway, since moved back to Australia I haven’t had the opportunity to travel as much as I’d like (still a lot compared to many people though, so I’m not complaining), but through the frustrating years of fertility treatment and then the early months of our gorgeous little boy, I had felt it might be a long, long time before I could travel with the kind of freedom I’d grown used to.
Watching Melbourne traffic |
Until now! As I mentioned on the Not A Ballerina Facebook page, I’m in Melbourne this week, for no very special reason other than my little boy can still fly for free (until April, when he turns two), I have lots of friends to visit here, and after our Tasmanian trip I’d seen that he was a pretty good traveller and thought I could survive a spot of solo-with-toddler travel to the other side of the country.
And so far, so good, not only has my little boy maintained his ability to be a super traveller (and to learn to say “Melbourne” on the first day here), I’ve also had that lovely feeling again that I’m a capable traveller and I can just get on and do things in life (I know, I seem to mix up “travelling” and “life” a lot – for me they’re not all that separate!). We arrived in Melbourne late Saturday evening, but finding our little self-contained flat even while dragging a larger-than-normal bag and pushing a tired toddler in a stroller wasn’t so tricky; jumping on a tram together the next night to find the promised sushi for dinner was easy too. I’m hoping that a combination of his easy-going nature plus plenty of exposure to travelling as a youngster will ensure my little boy grows up being an excellent traveller and more than happy to accompany us on adventures around the world (I’m not so sure how I’ll feel when he starts doing those adventures on his own, but let’s take it a day at a time for now!).
Being able to travel independently, not relying on other adults, or fancy hotels or tours, but just figuring out each day on your own, is a skill and experience which everyone deserves to learn, in my opinion. I’m grateful to my parents for teaching me that, and I hope I’ll be passing it on to my son. I’m certainly going to give him plenty of chances to learn!
Sami says
Enjoy your time in Melbourne and some shopping too.
Amanda says
Thanks Sami! Not much shopping yet but plenty of good eating 🙂
jan says
Hang on to that “I can do anything” feeling – it is a natural high.