Empty Nester Realization: Why Travel Matters More Than Toys
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Here we go. Here’s an empty Nestor evaluation or observation, if you will. Anyway, what what have I learned now that I am an empty Nestor? I am one that is very, very self-critical. I don’t know if it’s a Catholic guilt thing. You you get up, you try to, you know, where did I go wrong? I got to do better. I’m a piece of garbage. I’ve got to do a better job. It’s just the way I am.
But I also sometimes I recognize things that, well, my wife and I got right. Now being an empty nest, you kind of evaluate things. It is most certainly a change without a doubt. All the kids being gone, yep, my daughter will text me. She goes to college, not far, and I get to go watch her games and my son’s games. Dad, I’m feeling like steak. And she’ll come home and I’ll cook for her.
I see things in the way that what they remember and when we have conversations, they will text me pictures, various different things from time to time that again warm my heart. One of the things that I decided to do, my wife and I decided to do is travel with our kids, spend as much time with them as we possibly can.
When my kids were very, very young, my wife and I would, you we go for a weekend in Miami together. But again, it would be my mom and dad and my in-laws was like, you know, four grandparents and three kids. And that was for a weekend. But any extent of it, my wife and I never did anything like that on our own. We always took the kids and we always said, you know what, we’re going to travel. We’re going to take them places. Kids.
They’re not gonna remember, this is just advice to young families out there. They’re not gonna remember the stuff you bought them. They’re not. They’re not gonna remember the action figure. They’re not gonna remember the video game or anything like that. They are definitely gonna remember the excitement at the airport. It’s still an ongoing thing. My daughter does videos and it drives my sons crazy.
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when we’re all getting together to go away together at the airport every single year, because she’s got to put it up on her page or TikTok, whatever the hell she does. And the funny things that happen along the way and the things that they see. I am a big believer, big believer that getting out and seeing the world and traveling, kind of, it builds you. It does.
Again, any toy, any toy that you’re gonna buy your kid, it’s gonna be forgotten. Time doing stuff with your kids, snorkeling with your kids, swimming in caves from beach to beach, whatever it may be, figuring out the roads in a certain country and the way around. All of these things shape personality and give your kids
confidence. Again, when you as a parent when you’re away with your kids also, it’s almost like to some degree, you know, I you’re you’re you’re much more of a, as I put it, a parent mode. When your home you’re more apt to being on top of them making sure their homework is done, tell them what to do. Did you go outside and practice? Did you do you know, whatever is necessary?
When you’re on vacation, no, no, it’s a completely, completely different thing. And again, you build, in my opinion, a different, I mean, I want to say it, I don’t know if it’s true, I believe it’s the case, a stronger relationship, and this is the foundation of a relationship as they get older, you’re still their parent.
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You’re still their parent and you still make the rules when they’re under my house, but it’s still, I don’t know, to me it’s a much, it seems very friendly as far as I’m concerned. Adaptability, this was put together in regards to kids. Kids who learn to travel, learn flexibility, problem solving, social intelligence, emotional resilience. child who has seen different people.
cultures, food, climates grows up less anxious and far more capable. The world is not as scary. You don’t want them to be scared of it. We’ve got enough scary stories out there. You want them to be able to handle certain situations, how to talk to strangers, how to handle discomfort, how to navigate uncertainty, how to observe and understand people. Again, this is quite important.
in today’s day and age. I’m here to tell you again, this is gonna be better than sending your kid off to the most expensive private school out there. It’s gonna teach him to be a leader, it’s gonna teach them to be an entrepreneur, it’s gonna make them confident.
Yeah, one of the things the rules I mean have a lot of room but we were out to dinner when we’re in Away on vacation with our kids wherever it may be, you know, phones Put the phone away and for a while there They didn’t have like the I make the kids shut off their data when they’re over there Then the eventually a lot of the restaurants and the places we go to would start having some nice no phones. We don’t do that Don’t do that. So it’s it’s We’re gonna talk to one of them. We’re gonna look each other in
The eye. Again, it’s kind of like we’re all in it together type of a situation. The world opens up the mind. Again, the kids start realizing. They start realizing, and I realized this when I first, you when I studied abroad, you can live anywhere. You can build anything anywhere. You can, it just makes your dream bigger. It gets, you know, you
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want kids to have that mentality what you know, what if I fail what if I fit now everybody fails you pick yourself up and you move on And again time and even the time slows down Slows down we live such fast lives you do know your kids and when time slows down. It’s the way to go My opinion advice, okay
It’s not about buying a trip. Not about what it costs, okay? And again, everybody has their family budget, whatever it may be. But again, this to me is an investment in your kid. You’re investing in confidence, adaptability, memories, connection, worldview, courage, identity. Again, all that other, junk fades away, okay? Best investment you’re gonna make in your kids, okay, is showing them the world.
and spending it with them. Again, just an empty nester observation. Watchdogonwallstreet.com.
