I remember when I first started blogging as a personal finance blogger, I told my friend Bridget that if I ever had kids, I'd totally become a mom blogger.
I said it tongue in cheek back then, but here I am — 13 week old baby napping next to me, launching a parenting blog.
But this isn't your average parenting blog.
I'm not going to teach you about all the different ways you could discipline your child (or not), or describe what parenting philosophy I subscribe to.
I mean, there's not even really a name for the parenting style we plan to subscribe to, and we’re not parenting experts.
It would feel tacky to plan to start a parenting blog before we’re even real parents. We haven’t had to do any of the tough stuff yet, like stay awake all night with a sick toddler, or make decisions about our child’s education.
Nope, instead, we decided to start a blog far more up our alley…
Lifestyle design for the liberal parent.
Introducing AdventureBaby.com
Ryan and I live life a little differently.
That’s probably why you’re reading this blog to begin with.
I'm a content marketer, and I work from anywhere in the world. Ryan has arguably one of the coolest careers in existence — he's a marine biologist.
We're both:
- Extremely liberal travel junkies
- Adventure enthusiasts and
- Solidly anti-status quo.
That 9-5 corporate cubicle job, 2 hour commute, dinner-on-the-table, Bachelor watching, still haven't lost that last 10 pounds dad-bod and mom-jeans lifestyle is just not for us.
That’s cool for some people. We need those people in the world. But when we thought of what we wanted from life, that was most decidedly not it.
So when we sat there at the top of the Sea to Sky Gondola, sipping coffee and staring with amazement at a positive pregnancy test, we knew we’d live a different kind of life…
We’d Just Have a Family, Too.
Throughout my pregnancy, we heard the same shit over and over again. Shit like…
“Oh you just wait until the baby is born”
“Sleep now because you won’t be able to in a few months”
“Enjoy your freedom while it lasts”
“Enjoy each other while you still can”
“You won't be able to travel so much with a family, so enjoy it while you can”
Yuck! That's not the life we wanted to lead, and we knew it wasn't the life we had to lead, either.
This is the parenting equivalent to phrases like “another day another dollar,” “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer,” and other phrases meant to shun the growth mindset and blame it on “the system”.
Saying these things is convenient because it takes the responsibility off of the sayer to lead a meaningful life. It’s like saying “I can’t, because…”
And just because this was the dim reality for those who believe this “sage advice” doesn't mean it had to become our reality.
The “Supposed To”s
Lest you think we’re ignorant for knowing we can live differently because… well, borrow a phrase from the negative Nancys:
“Just wait until the baby is born”
Know that I had some doubt about this too.
Would my life change so incredibly that all of a sudden I’d find myself dressed in a skirt suit ready to go to my 9-5 corporate job? Pouring out a little liquor over the death of my passport? Grieving my freedom and resenting my baby, all the while rejoicing when this little human I created went to school like the tapped-out parents of commercials?
But then I remember…
I’m supposed to be stomping on the heads of my peers while scrambling up the corporate ladder right now.
I’m supposed to be saving $100 off of each paycheque so I can go to an all inclusive resort during my two weeks of “paid vacation” each year… that is, if my vacation request was permissible from my boss.
I’m supposed to be drowning in student debt, stressing over calculations that I won’t have my pointless college education paid for until I’m 58 years old, all while accumulating all the stuff I can possibly accumulate to make myself feel better for my soul crushing job, debt load, and relationship.
But I’m doing none of these things.
Instead, I earn a very comfortable living from my laptop wherever I am in the world by doing something I love.
Instead, I travel as I see fit, without asking permission, and for however long (or short) I want.
Instead, I’m debt-free with significant savings in the bank account (far more than any other 28 year old I know, to be sure) afforded from:
- Paying out of pocket for my education
- A lot of hard work and smart investment decisions
- The online businesses I’ve worked hard to grow and nurture
- And a lack of addiction to material goods.
So to think that Ryan and I would conform to society’s drab expectation of new parents is ludicrous.
Now, we’re not idiots. We know that some things will change. They have to. That comes with the territory of growing and being responsible for another human life.
We won’t be able to travel with just carry ons and laptop cases anymore.
I won’t be able to pack all of my worldly possessions into a 2-door Honda Civic (our stroller wouldn’t have even fit in the trunk).
And, among many other things, my priorities will surely shift. I won’t be able (nor want) to work from 6am to 11pm one night just to get an “important” project done. My important “project” will be my family.
But these are just the minor details in the overall lifestyle we’re continuing to lead and define, and they’re details we’re ready for.
Lifestyle design changes a little when you add the splash of color that is a baby. And we knew people would be interested in how we live. People are already interested in how we live… it’s just a bit more interesting with a kid in tow.
If you got all the way down to the bottom of this article, I assume that you either:
a) Are expecting and don't want your life to die when your baby is born
b) Are a parent and want to learn about how you live a better life with your kids
c) Are a parent and already live life a little differently.
If any of these sound like you, we'd love it if you would join us. Community is important (especially when you have a little one!) and we have your back. Sign up below & come introduce yourself!
