The Boys’ Stance

“At first, I thought it was a crazy idea, a terrible idea,

but now I don’t think so.”

Jack, age 10

Don’t you ever wonder what is going on inside the mind of a child?

Since they were first born we have been speculating on the thoughts of our beloved sons. With this great adventure looming only a week away and with everyone asking, “what do the boys think?” we decided to exchange the guesswork for some sleuth work (of the non-criminal sort).

We believe that this trip will be a wonderful, educational, formative experience. We also realize it might ruin their lives and they might never forgive us. Uh oh, are they thinking that too?

So we thought we would ask — by dressing up, sitting formally on the sofa, and running through a series of questions while being videoed. You, know, the way normal parents create mock Five Backpacks Family News interviews to have conversations with their kids.

Here are their thoughts, transcribed from their own words and organized under their guidance:

Seth, age 6, says, “I’m really excited for hiking mountains, seeing the Grand Canyon and Macchu Picchu, and sliding on the frozen lakes in Russia!” Jack, age 10, says his top goal is to go to Italy. In his words, “It feels cool to visit the home of our ancestors and see where the Roman Empire was born.” He adds that his life goal is to see all the countries in the world. Leo, age 8, wants to see the rest of the world too, especially Africa, because, as he says, “I think it is not as urban as Washington, DC.”

To accomplish all these goals, we have been busy preparing. The boys are learning different languages like Spanish, Russian, and Latin. We have been running “test packs” to see what will fit in our backpacks. Jack and Leo were quick to note that they need clothes, while Seth listed “magic cards, kindle, card games, and story cubes” before he mentioned clothes and underpants.

That said, when we asked what they are doing to prepare, all three boys initiated with the same response: cleaning! Getting the house ready to hand over to the new owners requires a new level of fastidiousness that, to the boys, apparently overshadows all other preparations.

What about fears and concerns? Understandably, all three said that they are going to miss their friends greatly. Leo also thinks it will be hard to learn how to adapt to living in other places, especially ones in which people don’t speak English. Jack was even worried about going bankrupt and losing our passports! 

Considering all these challenges, I asked the children, “do you think the trip will be worth it?” Leo was certain. He is excited to experience, “new things, new friends out there, new everything.” Seth is also looking forward to finding other worldschoolers out there, as well as “snuggling on long plane flights.” Jack thinks that traveling is a great way to experience the world and meet new people. And as Seth suggests, we might have the joy of catching a small snake, experience the scariness of escaping a boa constrictor, and see the funny sight of an elephant jumping over a tiger.

Based on their answers we are optimistic that we are not ruining their lives — either way you’ll hear it first on your Five Backpacks Family News — stay tuned for more to come!