I know you are all sitting on the edge of your seat wondering how I, Shelley the World Traveler, could possibly stop traveling. And I will just put you out of your misery and say, I’ve stopped for now. I by no means have any intentions of making that decision a permanent one. Life throws us some curve balls and a few have hit me smack between the eyes.

It’s true, travel is for most of us a luxury. And while it gives me immense joy and inspiration, its not the most important thing in my life. God and my family come first. My son is little and it is just plain hard to leave your baby. That coupled with one really awful, emotionally detrimental trip while my son screamed and cried the whole time I was gone, lead to my decision, that maybe now is not the best time. I struggle, as I’m sure we all do, with wanting to have it all together all the time. Then I realized after having a kid that I have it together almost never….it was a shocking reality check. I LOVE to travel and would choose it over any hobby or pastime. But there comes a time…..a time when some things we love take a back seat to things we love even more. The things that are most important.

I don’t know what my travel future holds. I hope endless vistas and sunsets across colorful and strange countries. For now I’ll wait. Wait for the right time and the right place. I have Belgium on my radar for many months from now with my family. We’ll see where the next adventure takes us!

In between the good, the bad and the tantrums, I live off of Pinterest and any travel news I can get my hands on and I dream. Here’s to putting what matters first, letting go of what doesn’t, and to new dreams for tomorrow.

Happy Travels,