If you don't mind my asking, how did she manage to visit so many continents & countries in such a relatively short period of time? I travelled worldwide in my Air Force and DOD career. Her stats are very impressive for such an early age. You might suggest she use some of those frequent flyer miles to send Mom & Pops on a vacation.
When she was 12 years old, I was having a conversation with her regarding scholarships. Her eyes lit up and she said "wait, they will pay me to go to school?". I told her yes, with good grades and a resume of community service, she would be eligible for tons of scholarships. As an incentive, I told her that whatever scholarships she won, I would buy from her when she graduated college. Keep in mind, she is 12 when we had this conversation. I was thinking that she would use the money as a down payment on a house or something. She came to me during her senior year at LSU and asked if she could drop her minor and graduate early. I told her of course. She wanted to do this because John Bell Edwards was threatening to take away TOPS. I was thinking this would save me 6 months of LSU related expenses. What ended up is that it cost me 6 more months of traveling. I made good on my promise to buy all of her scholarships (she had a lot) and she planned her trip like crazy. She spent the first 4.5 months in Madrid. She got a job as an au pair. That paid her room and board. She spent that time finishing up her accreditation in ;becoming bilingual in Spanish. After that, it was all scholarship money. She live frugally, and stayed in lots of hostels. Every year after high school, I sent both of my kids to Europe to travel, so they learned how to fend for themselves. Daughter number 1 took that experience and turned it into an 18 month trip of a lifetime. When I asked her about spending the money on travel instead of a house, she said, Dad, I'm gonna be a doctor. I can buy a house later! I love her "experience life" first attitude. I'm a blessed man. Both of my daughters have seen much more of the world than me and think nothing of meeting each other in Rome or Madrid for a vacation. To their generation, the world is much smaller than it is to mine.
Indeed you are. You and your wife are to be commended for doing an outstanding job of raising your daughters. I think your daughters will verify this. It is extremely difficult to put a dollar value on the "education" you gain traveling worldwide. During my career I traveled worldwide from Thule Greenland to Australia and more points in between than I can recount. I've experienced things that can't be duplicated here in the US. Once again, congrats to you & your wife. Job well done.
