My Travelful Life - Teaching My Daughter and Myself to Be Unapologetically Us

I never planned to become that mom — the one dragging a stubborn, snack-obsessed kid through customs, bribing her with snacks and stuffies to try new things, and pretending we didn’t all have a meltdown (or three) before even making it to baggage claim. But here we are, passports in hand, living our version of the dream: growing up travelful together, one beautiful, messy life lesson at a time.

Sharing our obsessions and passions has brought Itsy Bitsy and me closer together.

I’m Jodie, and I have fully embraced my role as Fat Mama. I’m plus-size (or as I like to think of it, fun-size), neurospicy (officially AuDHD), chronically sleepless (thanks, insomnia), and constantly wrestling with Type II Diabetes and fibromyalgia. My body aches, my brain is always buzzing, and I’m not always sure what time zone I’m in. So yes — sometimes the plane snacks are the highlight of my day. But even with all that, I will never regret filling every break in the school calendar with as much travel as possible. The benefits for both me and Itsy Bitsy have been better than any medicine or therapy.

We are always unapologetically silly.

One of the best gifts travel has given us is a better understanding of each other — especially when it comes to how our neurodivergent brains tick. Elizabeth and I both share the neurospicy magic, but we feel it in our own wonderfully different ways. Learning how to support her big feelings, her love of routine, and her craving for constant excitement has taught me so much about myself too. Where I’ve spent years unlearning shame and peeling away old masks, she’s growing up with the freedom to be exactly who she is, right from the start — and that’s something I’m deeply proud of.

Balancing her love of surprises with her need for predictability isn’t always easy (for either of us). Travel, with all its glorious unpredictability, has been the perfect training ground. We both find comfort in the familiar rhythms of planes and road trips, even as we dive headfirst into new places and messy adventures. And if there’s one routine we never break? It’s her hunt for the perfect new stuffie and my ongoing quest to sneak another squeaky rubber duck into my carry-on. Priorities, right?

When Elizabeth was little, all I really wanted was to help her see that this world is wide and waiting for her — that she never has to shrink or hide any part of herself to fit into it. I’ve always celebrated her big feelings — frustrated tears, unstoppable giggles, gleeful squeals (even when they echo through quiet museums). We don’t hush her joy and we don’t punish her curiosity. Fat Papa and I embrace every part of Itsy Bitsy and work hard to show her that the rest of the world will too, if she just gives them the chance.

Every experience can be a learning opportunity.

Travel has been our greatest teacher. When reading at home felt impossible, she learned sight words on airport signs, and road trips turned gas station snack runs into math practice. When she refused to try new foods, she discovered the universal truth that almost every culture has cheese on bread and meat in casings — pizza and hot dogs, the international language of picky eaters. And when screen time tantrums started to rule our routine, travel turned her focus back to the real world — where imagination takes the wheel and there’s always something new to see.

Of course, this isn’t just about Elizabeth. Traveling the world with her has cracked my own life wide open too. Unmasking my autism and ADHD late in life was scary and messy and freeing all at once. Travel forced me to listen to my body when it needed rest, to accept help when I wanted to do it all alone, and to step back when my sensory limits got tested. Yet somewhere between missed flights and bus stop breakdowns, I found a self-confidence that years of diets, guilt, and misdiagnosis could never give me.

If you take anything away from our story, I hope it’s this: every family gets to write their own version of what makes life beautiful, meaningful, and travelful. You don’t need a passport or a perfect plan — just a willingness to grow together, to try new things, to teach your kids how to face the world without fear but with compassion, and how to come back home to themselves when the world gets too loud.

Big hearts, big smiles, and big adventure.

I hope our stories remind you that you’re allowed to chase your dreams, blend your passions with your kids’ wild interests, and build a life that makes your heart (and maybe your feet) wander. Thanks for being here — there’s so much more to come.