A Mending Journey

Welcome to A Mending Journey! This is a travel blog about a small homeschooling family on the adventure of a lifetime across multiple countries while mending hearts, minds, and souls. I am a solo parent of a 12-year-old. We are both neurodivergent and have dealt with more than our fair share of trauma, depression, and anxiety.

At the end of 2025, life was feeling bleak; emotional dysregulation, lack of motivation, and feelings of helplessness were endless. We tried traditional methods: therapy, medications, time-off, working out, getting lost in projects, and focusing on things outside ourselves. Places and things that were once mundane now brought memories of hurt and reminders of what and who had been lost. I was on the search for something that would bring my little family back to life.

I have a passion for learning about other cultures and immersing myself in them. My child, always looking for something new to try or do. These ideas led me to recall communities online where you could exchange volunteer hours for room and board (lodging and food). In the past, these were not known to be family-friendly options, but when I started to look into them again, things had changed. There were now options for people traveling as a family.

I started to feel hopeful that this could be an option for us; we could take time away from our busy lives and heal the parts of us that have felt broken. I began planning, saving, and prepping for our journey. I read about other small families that have made similar choices to live this alternative lifestyle, and it seemed doable, maybe even part of the answer to the problems we had been having.

Our journey began on March 1st, 2026, with a trip across the United States to visit family and see some sights along the way. We then started our international journey on March 9th, 2026, entering Canada! While this blog will not be updated in real-time, it will be updated regularly with commentary and photos of our journey. I hope to keep our friends and family updated as well as share our story with anyone currently on a similar journey or looking to embark on one themselves.

Welcome and thank you for reading! Merry meet, and may we meet again!