Travel, baby.

30 and looking for my travel partner.  

That was my online dating profile.  The subject of most of my conversations.  I want adventure and experiences around the world.  That's why I became a flight attendant...to see the world, one adventure at a time.  20 hours in Brazil, 16 hours in Sint Martiin, 12 hours in Vegas.  Scouting out the hippest hostels and airbnbs.  Pinterest boards full of 24 hours in Paris, Barcelona, and London pins.  My goal and the thing I crave the most is travel.  That will never change.

Sometimes though, life throws a curve ball and the plan immediately seeks an adjustment.  Questions of how to add this HUGE, mind-blowing, addition to your life...somehow implement this big change into your plans.  Because, you're still you and this not so little surprise actually gives you the one thing you've been searching for...a travel partner.  Just not in the shape of a 35 year old, tall, dark, and handsome male like you'd expected.

Now, all the dreams and plans and goals I had for myself include a little boy, who I hope really loves to fly.  I hope he has my sense of adventure and wants to chase the sun and watch the earth from above the clouds.  The pictures I had imagined of myself in front of the Eiffel Tower and on top of the Grand Canyon have the cutest little boy now.  Eating ice cream during a Gondola ride in Venice.  Pointing to Big Ben with eyes full of curiosity and excitement.  I want his little passport to be full and his little life to have meaning because I believe if he knows how big the world really is, he'll be less likely to get lost in a small mind.

If I'm being completely honest with you, I found pride in my freedom and choice to travel rather than settle down and start a family.  I've said it a hundred times before, "I would rather travel than get married and have kids."  And I want my son to know that it wasn't because I didn't want him, but that I was afraid I would have to give up my dreams.  Because society says you can't have both.  So I chose wanderlust and airports.  But life had different plans.  I know I'll still travel alone (I am a flight attendant) but having a child doesn't limit my abilities or opportunities...if anything, it makes me more excited to dream and plan.  Because I can give him the thing I want most now.  I can show him how beautiful the world is and watch as his little feet grow with each country he explores.  I can't wait for him to pick his favorite places and share stories of the funny reggae man he met at a market, in Curacao, who made up a song about him.

So, if you're a woman full of wanderlust, don't limit yourself in thinking that you can't have it all.  And if you're a mom who feels like giving up your dreams is the sacrifice you have to make for your family, don't limit yourself in thinking you too can't have it all.  There is a wonderful world out there and it's big enough for your dreams and your choices and your mistakes and your successes and your fears.

So spread your wings and fly.