Louise, The Adventures of a Chicken
One of my favorite children's books is Louise, The Adventures of a Chicken by Kate DiCamillo. The synopsis is:
I wish I could explain myself eloquently but I was not blessed with that talent. But I'll give it a try anyway...
I think I love it because I feel like Louise. I have a wonderful, full life. But I still long for adventure. I crave new experiences. I was born with a bit of wanderlust. I feel the pull. Yet I have a family (that I adore), responsibilities (that I enjoy) and a home and community and friends (that I love).
Louise has a wonderful, comfortable life, surrounded by friends and family but she longs for adventure. She feels that pull and ventures out into the wide world and finds adventure. But after a while, she always misses the other hens and the comforts of the hen house so she happily returns home, content and peaceful. Until she feels the pull again.
I don't feel unsatisfied with my life. I love my life! But I do still crave adventure and travel with the ones I love. But I also love the security and stability of home and what that means to me and my family. Sometimes I feel like two different people. Sometimes I don't know how to have both adventure and stability. I want to travel and live abroad with my family and do interesting things, learn new languages, experience new cultures, try new things and meet interesting people. I want to REALLY experience places, not just visit them as a tourist. I want to live their life, understand their perspectives and see the beauty of their corner of the earth. That would mean living in places for extended periods of time. But I also want them to be in school, work towards long term goals, get a good education, have friends, participate in sports, youth activities and build lasting relationships beyond our family. This is why I am constantly planning our next trip. (And the pile of skymiles for free flights helps too)! So I can satisfy my desire for adventure without sacrificing the stability of staying put and being near family while my kids grow up. I just have to make sure we are "traveling" and not just "vacationing" every time. That's hard with such a variety of ages and so many kids. But I feel truly blessed that we get to try! I sincerely hope these trips help my kids build character, overcome fears, have courage to do hard things, have compassion for others, understand that we are all children of God no matter where and how we live, gain perspective and gratitude and give them a broader view of the world.
My other favorite line in the book is that when Louise does come home, she goes into the hen house and "sleeps the dreamless sleep of the true adventurer." I love that because I love how I feel after a long, adventurous, exhausting day. Sleep comes so easily and I love to think that I can sleep the dreamless sleep of the true adventurer in my own small way.
She longed for adventure.
So she left her home and ventured out into the wide world.
The pleasures and perils she met proved plentiful: marauding pirates on the majestic seas, a ferocious lion under the bright lights of the big top, a mysterious stranger in an exotic and bustling bazaar.
Yet in the face of such daunting danger, our heroine . . .
She was brave.
She was fearless.
She was feathered.
She was a chicken.
A not-so-chicken chicken.
Her name?
Louise.
I wish I could explain myself eloquently but I was not blessed with that talent. But I'll give it a try anyway...
I think I love it because I feel like Louise. I have a wonderful, full life. But I still long for adventure. I crave new experiences. I was born with a bit of wanderlust. I feel the pull. Yet I have a family (that I adore), responsibilities (that I enjoy) and a home and community and friends (that I love).
Louise has a wonderful, comfortable life, surrounded by friends and family but she longs for adventure. She feels that pull and ventures out into the wide world and finds adventure. But after a while, she always misses the other hens and the comforts of the hen house so she happily returns home, content and peaceful. Until she feels the pull again.
I don't feel unsatisfied with my life. I love my life! But I do still crave adventure and travel with the ones I love. But I also love the security and stability of home and what that means to me and my family. Sometimes I feel like two different people. Sometimes I don't know how to have both adventure and stability. I want to travel and live abroad with my family and do interesting things, learn new languages, experience new cultures, try new things and meet interesting people. I want to REALLY experience places, not just visit them as a tourist. I want to live their life, understand their perspectives and see the beauty of their corner of the earth. That would mean living in places for extended periods of time. But I also want them to be in school, work towards long term goals, get a good education, have friends, participate in sports, youth activities and build lasting relationships beyond our family. This is why I am constantly planning our next trip. (And the pile of skymiles for free flights helps too)! So I can satisfy my desire for adventure without sacrificing the stability of staying put and being near family while my kids grow up. I just have to make sure we are "traveling" and not just "vacationing" every time. That's hard with such a variety of ages and so many kids. But I feel truly blessed that we get to try! I sincerely hope these trips help my kids build character, overcome fears, have courage to do hard things, have compassion for others, understand that we are all children of God no matter where and how we live, gain perspective and gratitude and give them a broader view of the world.
My other favorite line in the book is that when Louise does come home, she goes into the hen house and "sleeps the dreamless sleep of the true adventurer." I love that because I love how I feel after a long, adventurous, exhausting day. Sleep comes so easily and I love to think that I can sleep the dreamless sleep of the true adventurer in my own small way.
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