Mom Truth: Adventure Doesn’t Kill Routine — It Becomes the Routine

People always ask me how we keep any kind of structure while traveling and living between islands and countries.

They imagine chaos — bags everywhere, kids melting down, schedules forgotten, Mom hanging on by a thread.

And yes, there are chaotic moments.

There are airports, missed naps, time-zone surprises, and backpacks that mysteriously weigh 60 pounds although everyone swears they only packed a blanket and a shark toy.

But here’s the truth I’ve learned:

Adventure doesn’t kill routine — it becomes the routine.

Tiny Anchors in a Big World

When we travel, each child gets one comfort item: a blanket.

It has to fit in their backpack alongside water and a snack, but let’s be honest — I always pack an extra bag because at some point I’ll end up carrying everything anyway.

Blankets are more than blankets.

They're familiarity.

They're home.

And our routines are rooted in people, rhythm, and presence — not things.

Our Island Rhythm in Belize

My kids are early risers — island life hasn’t changed that.

Our days start long before the rest of the world wakes up:

🌅 5:30 AM — Walk on the beach

🏊 7:00 AM — Pool time before the older two go to preschool

We tried a few preschools here, and ABC has been wonderful — flexible and welcoming to our lifestyle.

The 3- and 4-year-olds get dressed after their morning swim, hair still salty, skin sun-kissed, happy and awake from living in nature.

After preschool we come home for lunch and rest, and then we’re right back outside.

Our nanny cooks dinner, and the afternoons are for being together:

another swim, a walk to the store, or visiting one of the island pool bars — Castaway, Truck Stop, or Jack’s Poolside Bar & Grill where our friend the chef always greets us with a smile.

This is our community here.

Not forced — grown.

You build a life by talking to people, showing up, learning the place.

Now I have friends I see every day on our walks:

✨ Chris — philosophy & politics conversations under palm trees

✨ Cindy — sharing local insight and island wisdom from one expat mom to another

Routine isn't just clocks and schedules — it's connection.

Freedom Built on Stability

People think adventure means instability, but really, routine gives adventure a backbone.

Our kids know the rhythm:

Explore, eat, play, rest, connect.

They know they’re safe.

They know what comes next.

And that means they thrive — wherever we are.

I’ve been able to give them this life through investments.

Selling my properties in Canada opened the door to new opportunities and created the residual income that lets us live and build routines in different countries.

It wasn’t luck — it was intention, courage, and choosing a different path.

When We’re Back in Canada

Our rhythm stays the same:

Morning outside, community, slow afternoons.

Just swap tropical beaches for fir trees and family farmland.

Add in cousins and grandparents, family dinners, and afternoons feeding animals and walking the valley at my dad’s farm.

Different backdrop, same heartbeat.

Our Bedtime Ritual Travels Everywhere

No matter where we are — Canada, Belize, airplanes, ferry terminals, hotel rooms — bedtime never changes:

Cuddles.

A song.

Blankets.

Mama nearby.

Even when everyone has their own bed, they end up in mine by morning — all my little cuddle bugs tucked around me in a big king bed like puppies.

Because home isn’t a place.

It’s not a country or a house or even an island.

Home is us.

All we really need is a king bed and each other.

Adventure IS the Routine

We don’t pause life to travel.

We don’t “take breaks” from normal life to explore.

This is our normal.

Sunrises, sand between little toes, preschool, markets, ocean swims, community conversations, cuddles, blankets, sleep.

Adventure doesn’t replace routines.

It becomes them.

And honestly?

I think that’s the best kind of childhood.