Lucas is 14 years old. We started our wild worldschooling journey when he was eight years old. Oh my, how time flies. This post reflects on his last five years and all he saw and accomplished.
Lucas is kind, smart, and hard-working. He makes us smile and laugh every day. Lucas was a rockstar before we started traveling. He won and placed in triathlons, was MVP of his flag football league, and was on an all-star baseball team. He has always loved playing and watching sports. The Atlanta Braves are his favorite baseball team, and he would watch every game if he could. He has a knack for sports statistics and trivia. Lucas is also adaptable, which made our transition to worldschooling so easy.
We started our journey in 2019. We did not make the trip to Asia like we planned because of Michael’s cancer diagnosis, but we made the most of our time with my sister Emily and her husband Jonathan in Atlanta while Michael sought treatment. When Michael had a clean bill of health, we celebrated Michael’s 40th birthday at Disney World and Universal Studios, then headed off to Central America. We conquered border crossings and bus rides and were on our way. Then COVID hit.
Nothing went as planned, but everything was going right. We went from seeing Lucas and Henry a few hours a day to seeing them all day, every day. Lucas and Henry spent their COVID exploring beaches, horseback riding, surfing, and building forts with friends. At nine years old, Lucas was cooking chicken a la vodka, making eggs and bacon, and more. He makes a better over-easy egg than Michael or me.
We came back from Nicaragua towards the end of 2020 to help care for my stepmom when she was battling cancer. Lucas spent so much time with Lois and my dad. You cannot put a price on that. We are thankful we were there for the last several months of Lois’ life.
It was during that time that Lucas started playing tennis. Like his dad, Lucas has natural sports ability. He went to tennis clinics several times a week and started playing in tennis tournaments. He won the consolation draw in a tennis tournament in Arizona after only playing for a few months.
After we left North Carolina, we embarked on a cross-country road trip. Lucas and Henry joined a hybrid online school for a semester (Montana Hybrid Academy). Lucas built a drone for his semester-long project. We drove to Montanta so Lucas and Henry could participate in, in-person bushcraft days. They learned how to build fires, created burn bowls, and made bows and arrows. Lucas loves skiing, and during this time, we skied for five weeks in Colorado and Utah.
Lucas has spent a lot of time with family even though we travel. With a more flexible lifestyle, we can spend several weeks with family instead of one week or a few days during the holidays. When we spend extended time in North Carolina, Lucas is a ballboy for the Winston-Salem Open tennis tournament. He was a ballboy for Carlos Alcaraz and Frances Tiafoe.
Ecuador, in 2022, is where Lucas got invested in pickleball. We played six days a week in Cuenca with a wonderful group of pickleball players who embraced Lucas and Henry despite their age.
Lucas has traveled to over 40 countries. He has been to Chichén Itzá in Mexico; Machu Picchu in Peru; the Pyramids in Egypt; the Colosseum, in Italy; and Angkor Wat in Cambodia. He flew an airplane in the Amazon jungle with our friend Rick. We spent a magical month in the Galapagos Islands snorkeling with the sea life.
Lucas can book airline tickets, convert currency, navigate subways, trains, and buses, and use rideshare apps. He manages his food budget in many of the countries we visit. He is interested in the stock market and manages some investments. He plays Minecraft with friends from all over the world and uses the Internet to teach himself new skills in the game. He conquered his fear of heights by ziplining to the highest treehouse in the world in the jungles of Laos. In Thailand, he learned about mangrove and coral restoration, the importance of ecosystems, and how they work. In Cambodia, he learned about the genocide, and we visited the killing fields. We visited the DMZ and learned about the struggles between North and South Korea.
In the last year, Lucas obtained his scuba certification in Thailand and advanced scuba certification in the Philippines. He volunteered at a dive shop in the Philippines for a month cleaning equipment and the boats. He won a pickleball tournament in Bangkok, played at an elite level in the Asia Pickleball Open pickleball tournament in Vietnam, and received his IPTPA certification to teach pickleball.
Lucas has done a lot in 14 short years. We would not trade our time with him for anything in the world. Happy Birthday, Lucas!!!
