THE PROMISE OF THE WORLD

Mikkita L. Moore

Iremember growing up, having the experience of our (my mom and I) summer road trips to Memphis. I remember how fun it was to see all of the mountains, stop at the different gas stations and truck stops along the way. I also remember promising myself that, one day, I would do the same thing with my children.

I knew very early on that I wanted to be the type of mom that gave her children life experiences, more than materialistic things like shoes and clothes. “Memories last forever while material things last only a season.” I am a mother of five, three boys and two girls, ranging in age now from 29 to 9 years old. My boys spent most of their weekends, and school breaks with their dad, so, because of this, I started my family traveling with my daughters. The three of us having girls’ trips whenever I could. On our first trip, I took my then 18-year-old and my 10-month-old on a cruise to the Bahamas, yes, my girls are 17 years apart, I still wonder what in the world I was thinking with that one, but even with the age gap they had an amazing time. This trip would be their first plane ride as well as their first cruise. I remember vividly the looks on their faces when they saw the ”really big boat” as my daughter said as she gazed out of the shuttle bus window. “Mommy are we getting on that really big boat over there, mommy, really mommy?” I can still hear those words as if it happened yesterday. From that very moment, I knew this is a memory she would hold on to forever. Since then, I have taken my children on many trips, the boys included, internationally as well as taking them to different cities within the United States. Traveling with them for me is more than just being able to say they went, it’s more about the experience of getting off your block, out of your hometown. They experienced something different, from the food to the culture, to the people. I want them to see that there is so much more to the world than just Chicago and the things that they tend to see every day. I do have to admit that between the years of 2015 through 2019, family traveling slowed down tremendously for us, this due to adulting… bills, not being able to afford to go comfortably, etc., however after the pandemic

of 2020, I vowed that no matter what, we would have at least one international and one national trip per year. We lost so many people during the pandemic, and because of that, I do not want my children to leave this earth not knowing what other cities, states, cultures, etc. look like. The experience is much better than simply reading about it.

Being a single mother my children’s entire life, I have always wanted them to know that just because I am a single mother, that does not mean that they cannot experience great things in life. I find myself going above and beyond so that their experiences are no different than their peers that come from a two-parent home. To me, it is important that they see that with or without two parents in the home life can still be amazing. When taking my children on trips, the one thing I do not do is punish them from the trip, so for instance if they get a bad grade, or get in trouble, (trouble like not doing chores or doing something that they know better than to be doing type trouble) I do not take the trip away from them. I don’t take them on trips as a reward, I take them for the experience and the memories. I promised myself long ago that they would live and not just be alive. I do have to say since they do get to go out of town and experience different cultures, I find that they don’t get into a lot of trouble and their grades tend to be honor roll grades. Lord, I thank you! For me, the importance of family travel is not only for the memories and experience but my children tend to talk more when we are out of town, they talk about school, their friends, sometimes their problems. I honestly get to hear more about them when we are sitting by the pool, or on long planes or car rides. I love knowing what is on their minds, knowing how they are doing, and really feeling. Yes, we talk at home as well, but it’s something about taking a trip that brings out a lot more. I want my children to be able to talk to me about anything and the fact that they see our trips as a safe space, I wouldn’t want to ever take that away from them.

Showing them the world truly brings me joy… Knowing they have the memories forever… now that makes my soul smile…

Mikkita L. Moore

The Transparency Motivator