I got it from my Mama
It’s 1997, Friday afternoon, and you’re sat on the floor of your classroom, reading with your classmates when someone enters the room.
It’s the school receptionist, and your Mum.
Surprised, you ask what she’s doing there, and she asks you “How would you like to go to Tenerife, right now?!”
I think that was the beginning of my travel story, while we lived in Tenerife when we were younger, and we definitely took other trips too, this was the first time it felt like we were going on an adventure.
It was a different time in the 90’s, where parents wouldn’t be slapped with a hefty fine for taking their kids out of school to do something - in my opinion - far more valuable than Friday afternoon education.
My mum was a travel agent, which always seemed so glamorous and exciting to me. I loved her desk in the agency, I loved that she could whip us out of school for a last minute, discounted holiday, I loved that she got to look at travel pictures all day and dream of the places people could go, and she got to book it!
The women in my bloodline are travellers, who’s passions lie in seeing the world - and having nice homes and families to come back to. And while my adventures before now were months of travelling alone, not knowing when I’d be back, now, I am just like them. I love to travel, but I also love to come home to my little family unit, in our house, and enjoy the home we are building.
This year has been a struggle in that home and family unit. Not because things aren’t good, they’re wonderful, but because Brandon and I were hit with the hard, cold reality of infertility. And as we close a year of IVF, artificial hormones, surgeries, injections and still no baby, I needed something to set my soul on fire again.
And that something is travel.
Not the big adventures I used to go on, but exciting little trips and talking about the wonders of the world again. Opening the lid on the part of me - the very big part of me - that had to go on pause to focus on life stuff.
We’ve been pre-occupied with organising my visa and aiming for residency here in Australia, we’ve been focussed on buying a house, on our engagement and booking our wedding, we’ve been focussed on our two adorable puppies, and of course on our fertility journey.
Life, and the things we love outside of one another, got put on hold. And I’ve decided - we’ve decided - it’s time to lift the lid.
Brandon needs more surf, more ocean time, more golf, more boy time.
And I need more travel, more art, more writing and being with the girls.
And so, I decided to enter in to a whole new business, as a Travel Agent! I’ve been thinking about it for a while, what I could do that would allow me to talk about travel, and give me a lucrative business I can shut the door on every night. I wanted something that got me excited again, and this is it.
I find it fascinating how life can do a full 180 and bring you back to your roots, and I never really thought I’d follow in my Mums foot steps, but I guess that passion for travel, service and helping people really does run deep.
So here’s to the next part of my journey, to embracing being a homebody AND a passionate traveller.
To being a multifaceted dreamer, that is never afraid to go for it.
May you always find the courage to move in the direction of your dreams - especially when it’s scary.
Love always
Ashlie xx
