Traveling today is easier in many ways than it was when Michael and I were growing up. We have GPS to get around, FaceTime and texting to stay in touch with family and friends, Facebook Groups to find out what is going on in the cities you are visiting, and most of the comforts of home can be found in the places we go. Despite all of these tools to help us stay connected and get around, there are several things we miss when traveling.
Family and friends are number one. We are thankful that our flexible lifestyle allows us to spend more time with family and friends. As our parents get older, we are glad we can be there for them when they have health issues. Getting to see our siblings and nieces and nephews more often has been a big plus. Lucas and Henry have strong bonds with their cousins because they are able to see them more often and keep in touch online texting and playing games like Minecraft. We were able to see several friends and make new friends this year when we traveled across the United States. That probably would not have happened if we had not taken our road trip.
The boys have a little bit of FOMO when we are home around the holidays and they see their cousins and friends getting presents. They know that they are not getting a lot of toys and other tangible gifts for Chanukah or Christmas because we cannot carry a lot of things when we travel. They are responsible for hauling their own bags, which makes them conscious of the choices they make in what to bring. We are all happier having a holiday season with less commercialism and more togetherness.
We have enjoyed spending time with all of our family and friends’ pets. We have spent the most time with my sister’s dogs, Josie and Dexter. We will miss hanging out with these gentle giants. Henry loves to hang out on the couch with the dogs and in the forts that he builds. We know Henry is looking forward to the day when he can have his own dog.
It may sound silly, but we all miss Chick-fil-A when we are traveling abroad. We make a plan to eat there more than usual right before we leave for a trip. We can recreate most things on the road in our kitchen, but this is one recipe we cannot replicate. 
They have arcades and amusement parks abroad, but we try to get in a few extra days at places like Dave and Busters before we go. Many times we stay in small towns that do not have these places. The boys can play a lot of similar games on their tablets, but it is not quite the same.
We are never able to perfectly re-create the comforts of home when we travel, but that is one of the reasons that we travel. Traveling helps spark our creativity. It makes us take challenges and it gets us out of our comfort zone. When we are traveling we have some homesickness for familiar people, places, and things, but the experiences that we have when we travel are worth it. It makes us appreciate the people, places, and things more.
