One of the many ways I have connected with my children over the years is by traveling together.  We have ventured through all of the usual destinations like Hawaii, Disney World, the National Parks, San Francisco, New York, the beach every summer, etc – and also expanded our horizons to many countries in Europe like England, France, Spain, Italy,Switzerland, Greece and Turkey.  In fact, Kendall and I are headed to London, Paris, Pisa and Umbria in a few weeks and are meeting up with Logan (who is studying abroad) in Rome for a 3 night trip down to the Amalfi Coast.  My kids are savvy travelers.  They can navigate the metros, read a train timetable, convert cash without getting ripped off and speak enough of a few languages to be polite.  They know how to protect themselves from pickpockets and to use a foreign ATM.  They also realize that everywhere doesn’t do everything just like we do here in the US….and that it is quite all right that way.  I like to think that they have a more global view of the world and a more open mind and heart because of it.  Here are a few more of my wishes for my kids that I found in an anonymous article:
~I want you to be a decent human being~I want you to work hard at everything you do, because life is too short not to give it everything!

~I want you to ask for help when you need it

~I want you to help others when they need it

~I want you to learn how to cook, do your own laundry, pay your bills and know how to clean a bathroom

~When you screw up (and you will!), I want you to own it and learn from it
~I want you to know that there is nothing you could do to make me stop loving you~I want you to TRAVEL, because the world is huge and you are only one small part of it

~I want you to find a way to do what you love

~I want you to respect every human being’s right to be who they are

~I want you to sometimes be more interested in someone else than in yourself

~I want you to know love, even if it means

getting your heart broken