A Mother’s Day Tribute
Update: Having traveled the world for years after writing this article it is interesting to discover that one of the most frequently asked questions on my trip was: Did you miss your family? Many people said they would never leave home. Here’s how my family influenced my desire to travel.
How is the spirit of adventure born in the individual? What drove the great explorers to circle the globe half expecting to fall off the edge of the world?
In search of an answer, I asked, “Mom, do you ever wonder how, of all the sons in the world, you got the one who wants to bicycle around the planet?”
“All the time. All the time,” she sighs because, I think, she fears for my safety. “I ask everyone, ‘You know me, and you know my husband, how did we ever get a son like Scott?'”
Well, apparently no one knows but Mom must have done something right. My best guess is that I was born with an adventurous spirit; and, on top of that, Mom instilled me with the belief that I am not only entitled to but obligated to live the best life I know how and the pull-myself-up-by-the-bootstraps maxim to get it done.
That sounded arrogant when it is really meant to be a tribute to my mother for all she has sacrificed, and it is a tribute to all mothers, for through mothers are born: adventurers, artists, scientists, philosophers… Through mothers flows the creative spirit that fuels life.
For mom,
Love Scott and Carrie
Scooter Granny
Update 2008-09-13: My mom, now a grandmother is still keeping the adventure alive. Dad has become a recent motorcycle addict and has finally convinced Mom to spin her wheels. Here we see the mother of adventure on the road on a 2-hour motor scooter adventure. Next, she’ll be riding around the world.
