This is so good! Thank you. A year ago we took my then four-year-old to the Sydney Aquarium to see penguins, her longtime favorite animal. She was cranky and distracted and we declared it a bust. Yesterday she said "Remember when we went to the Sydney Aquarium to see penguins and we sat in a little boat together and mommy you were next to me and they were SO CUTE!" Kids!
Omg! I can only hope my kid will remember... We got to see penguins, too, and he was really into him. Maybe the experience will penetrate his consciousness, somehow!
One of our now legendary family stories is 7 year old me whining at Petra "I don't care how old it is, I just care how HOT I am!" And yet, I look back so fondly on the fact that my parents took us everywhere they could when our family lived in Greece (age 5 to 8 for me, 8 to 11 for my brother) even though in many cases we didn't have context for what we were seeing (especially me, being so young). Though I may not have appreciated exactly how old the ancient Greek ruins were, I loved the great stories in the mythology, and learning about the ancient Olympics. There was something to hook me even at my tender age!
Wow it is crazy to feel so seen in a post. I have read that case against travel essay and was thinking about Kyle Chayka's work exactly when you brought it up. I was also a toddler the first time I flew internationally - it was to see family in Colombia. I totally agree with everyone's comments- you never know what they will remember. And some things are not remembered explicitly. Maybe I was never afraid to fly or travel because I started at such a young age with my mom who loved to travel? On that trip I started to speak Spanish, my first language. Who knows? Kids are such sponges. Glad you had a good trip. Also, I am really enjoying your writing.
You might be surprised what he will remember later on, depending on how old he is. My earliest memories I can date are from a long camping trip my family took from Ohio to Colorado and Arizona when I was a kid. I turned 3 on the trip and I do have some memories of it still, even at age 50+. Not many and most are tied to being scared (walking along the wall at Mesa Verde, a very windy scenic overlook in the Rocky Mtns in CO) but not all are. I remember visiting friends of my parents and the dad bringing out a pizza they cooked in the oven, which to me was amazing as we didn't have pizza very often back then. Mostly snapshots of memory now reinforced by actual photos of the trip, but I remember when I remembered more if that makes sense.
I love this one, and the photos! (And that image of the divine revelation in the waterfall, lol). Since Agnes Callard didn't mention Elizabeth Bishop's poem "Questions of Travel," I will. https://allpoetry.com/Questions-of-Travel First lines: "There are too many waterfalls here; the crowded streams hurry too rapidly down to the sea"
This is so good! Thank you. A year ago we took my then four-year-old to the Sydney Aquarium to see penguins, her longtime favorite animal. She was cranky and distracted and we declared it a bust. Yesterday she said "Remember when we went to the Sydney Aquarium to see penguins and we sat in a little boat together and mommy you were next to me and they were SO CUTE!" Kids!
Omg! I can only hope my kid will remember... We got to see penguins, too, and he was really into him. Maybe the experience will penetrate his consciousness, somehow!
One of our now legendary family stories is 7 year old me whining at Petra "I don't care how old it is, I just care how HOT I am!" And yet, I look back so fondly on the fact that my parents took us everywhere they could when our family lived in Greece (age 5 to 8 for me, 8 to 11 for my brother) even though in many cases we didn't have context for what we were seeing (especially me, being so young). Though I may not have appreciated exactly how old the ancient Greek ruins were, I loved the great stories in the mythology, and learning about the ancient Olympics. There was something to hook me even at my tender age!
Yes! Thank you!!! Such a great story.
Wow it is crazy to feel so seen in a post. I have read that case against travel essay and was thinking about Kyle Chayka's work exactly when you brought it up. I was also a toddler the first time I flew internationally - it was to see family in Colombia. I totally agree with everyone's comments- you never know what they will remember. And some things are not remembered explicitly. Maybe I was never afraid to fly or travel because I started at such a young age with my mom who loved to travel? On that trip I started to speak Spanish, my first language. Who knows? Kids are such sponges. Glad you had a good trip. Also, I am really enjoying your writing.
Angela -- thank you!! Love hearing about your first words in Spanish while traveling to see family.... What a sweet image. <3
You might be surprised what he will remember later on, depending on how old he is. My earliest memories I can date are from a long camping trip my family took from Ohio to Colorado and Arizona when I was a kid. I turned 3 on the trip and I do have some memories of it still, even at age 50+. Not many and most are tied to being scared (walking along the wall at Mesa Verde, a very windy scenic overlook in the Rocky Mtns in CO) but not all are. I remember visiting friends of my parents and the dad bringing out a pizza they cooked in the oven, which to me was amazing as we didn't have pizza very often back then. Mostly snapshots of memory now reinforced by actual photos of the trip, but I remember when I remembered more if that makes sense.
Yes! I love this… Thanks for sharing. Sounds like you got to take some beautiful trips as a kid.
I love this one, and the photos! (And that image of the divine revelation in the waterfall, lol). Since Agnes Callard didn't mention Elizabeth Bishop's poem "Questions of Travel," I will. https://allpoetry.com/Questions-of-Travel First lines: "There are too many waterfalls here; the crowded streams hurry too rapidly down to the sea"
Love this very much. Thanks for sending me the best poems.