by Dulce Zamora
Family Fun Adventures I remember when my kids first started to walk. They teetered, tottered and toppled. Then, they got back up and did it all over again – until, day by day, they strolled straighter and more certain. Eventually, they stopped thinking about each step, because their brain and body memorized the actions. They could turn their attention to other things.
Each time my two daughters hit a milestone – the first time they ate solid food, talked, rode a bike, or went to school – they went through a similar process. Even though things were initially rocky, over time, they mastered important life skills.
If there was an issue, we, as a family, did the best we could to manage the situation. For example, our first vacation together as a party of four was turbulent. We had just settled into a house we rented for the week in Margaret River, Australia. My husband, Noel, was ready to go explore the town, but I said the girls needed a nap.
He was livid, exclaiming, “We spent all this money to fly from Singapore, and for what?!”
He heaved a big sigh and stormed out of the house. I couldn’t blame him. I was exhausted, too. Before we had children, Noel and I traveled like fiends. We squeezed in as much activity as possible during our holidays. We also reserved room for spontaneous outings. Our Australia trip was spontaneous, but in much different way.
First, while we were in Sydney, our two-year-old and six-month-old daughters became sick with high fever and cough. The girls and I mostly stayed in the hotel while Noel worked at his firm’s Australia branch and brought us takeaway meals. The kids got better in time to do one activity: We went to the aquarium. Then, we flew to Perth and stayed in Fremantle for a couple of days. The girls, Sienna and Jasmine, were still recovering so we took it easy, mostly going out to eat. That was challenging, because Sienna was intolerant to dairy, soy, and eggs. (Years later, we would also discover that she and Jasmine were also intolerant to gluten and sesame seeds.) We took in all in stride. Things could be worse. We just didn’t know it was going to get worse before it got better.
On the day we planned to make the trek to Margaret River, Sienna developed diaper rash. We went to the urgent clinic. The doctor said the rash was nothing to worry about. He gave us nappy cream and we set off on our road trip. Unfortunately, the three-hour drive turned in to eight. We stopped almost every hour to to change Sienna’s diaper, because she started having diarrhea. We ran out of diapers and searched every highway exit for stores that would carry pull ups. She had a small waist and thick thighs so regular diapers were not a great fit, especially for blowouts. Smart phones and WiFi were also still in their infancy back then so things weren’t as easy to find on the net, and our service was spotty.
Once we finally reached our destination and settled into the rental home, the diarrhea calmed down. Noel wanted to get out of the house to explore the town, but the girls and I were tired. They napped while I unpacked and organized our stuff. Noel returned from the nearby village in a much better mood. He was excited about the selection of fresh produce, meats, and cheeses, and wanted to prepare a special meal for us. He also promised to introduce us to the wonderful bakeries and ice cream shops he discovered in town.
However, we would not make it to the village for another few days. Sienna woke up from her nap with hives and bright red spots on her feet and legs. We took her to the E.R. The doctor diagnosed her with Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. Since it was a highly infectious condition, she had to quarantine inside the house. We didn’t know whether Jasmine had it too, since they were constantly together. So, we kept them both inside.
We spent the next few days in isolation. Noel continued to go to the village to get more groceries and medicines. He cooked for us every day and described the cool shops he saw in town and promised to take us there once Sienna got better. She had painful blisters on her legs, feet, and mouth. I looked up at-home remedies to ease the discomfort. I placed ice packs on her blisters to numb the pain, and, later, to soothe the itching. I also searched foods she could tolerate. Things like tomato sauce were acidic so Noel and I worked on giving her bland items. When she wouldn’t eat, we pureed the food and mixed it with chicken broth. I used a medicine syringe to insert sustenance into her mouth. It took a long time to feed her, but, if her rising energy level was any indication, she was going to be okay.
Sienna and Jasmine continued to be as playful as ever. They laughed, said the darndest things, and then Noel and I would laugh. It was like that inside the house and out in the backyard, which happened to be an open meadow. I can still remember the swishing sound of grasses beneath our feet as Noel carried Sienna on his shoulders while I had Jasmine on a sling. The girls pointed out the beautiful wildflowers on the ground and the blossoms on the trees. A couple of times, a golden retriever passed by and played with us. He belonged to the people who lived next door. We have a picture of all of us in the meadow (dog included). The photo looks like a Hallmark moment. Nobody would ever guess that our planned vacation was in tatters because of illness and that we were in quarantine some 2,500 miles (4,095 km) from home.
When I look back at that time, I can still remember the worry, the exhaustion, and the disappointment. But I also recall how adorable the kids were, how comforting my husband’s home-cooked meals were, how cozy the house was, and how splendid the meadow was. It was all very enchanting. Our ruined vacation turned into a magical one.
Since then, we’ve taken many amazing trips. None of them were perfect. In fact, we visited emergency rooms and clinics in several countries, navigated food intolerances in many unfamiliar places, and had our fair share of sickness, tantrums, and travel snafus (lost luggage, missed connections, weather delays, and forgotten visa applications). Nonetheless, we kept traveling anyway. In the process, we learned how to become better travelers. The growth has not been a straight path, of course. We’ve continued to make a lot of mistakes. We do try to learn from them and anticipate problems. Yet, there are a lot of things we cannot control. We just do our best to manage them.
Some people ask us why we subject ourselves to the headaches. They wonder why we bother traveling with kids or why we expose ourselves to the vagaries of the unknown. Sure, we’ve huffed and puffed a lot, but many people, places, and things also took our breath away. There was the Australian meadow, the warm Indian Ocean water that healed our daughters’ persistent coughs from a bacterial infection, and the Borneo chefs who were so excited to share with us the allergy-free rice milk they prepared from scratch, just for the girls.
When we put ourselves out there, we get to be a part of something awe inspiring. One spring in Tokyo we witnessed falling cherry blossoms, which looked like fluffy pink snow. In Chiang Mai, Thailand, Sienna got to ask a monk why the country’s noodles tasted so good. The monk laughed and said he enjoyed the noodles too. In Cambodia, we got to talk to one of the few surviving artists of the Khmer Rouge genocide. It was a true privilege to be able to bring home one of his sketches.
I guess traveling for us is a bit like learning how to walk. It’s a part of the fabric of our life. We stumble and fall a lot, but, when we get back up and keep going -- oh, the people, places, and things we see! We also learn to travel smarter. Every once in a while, we do need a break so we return to one of the places we enjoyed the first time. Even then, we’ve been able to discover something new at every visit. Perhaps there really is something to the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”
 | Dulce is an award-winning journalist, blogger, and speaker. She has written three children’s books and hundreds of news stories. She currently shares perspectives on her blog (www.windsweptwildflower.com), and on Instagram and Facebook as Dulce Zamora.life. She lives in Singapore with her husband and two daughters. |
Comments