OMG! We Hit “Post!!”

1 week ago, I was sitting in seat 21C on Ryanair flight FR8558 bound for Germany.  Brianna was seated on my left and holding my hand as she said,

“MOM – WE ARE GOING TO DO THIS.  HIT POST!”

I still remember the look of confidence on her face but meanwhile my hand was literally shaking with fear.

It was her certainty that pushed me over the edge and propelled me to hit “post” on both Instagram and Facebook announcing our family’s new project – “The Modern Stone Age Family” as our plane was taking off from the Dublin runway.  It was such an exhilarating moment but simultaneously laced with pure terror.

As soon as I clicked that button, we were launching our family into an unfiltered, digital world and I was uncertain what the reaction might be.  After all, we have three children, and this decision to put our family’s life and lifestyle into a public space was not an easy one by any means.

We know there will be people who think we are crazy.  

There will be people who can’t believe we are posting things publically and, as a result impacting our children’s personal privacy and security.

But we also know there are others who will be excited  . . .

to see the places we will visit, the lessons we will take from each experience and, most importantly, learn alongside of us how to use those lessons to make a meaningful impact on the way we live our lives.

IT IS OUR HOPE THAT YOU WILL TAKE WHAT WE SHARE AND USE IT TO POSITIVELY IMPACT YOUR OWN LIVES – AND,  THAT IS WHY WE ARE CHRONICLING OUR JOURNEY.    

I JUST WANT TO PUT THIS UP FRONT – WE ARE FAR FROM PERFECT.  

If anything, The Modern Stone Age Family is a way to show how much we need to learn. By visiting different countries and learning from different cultures, we can develop a deeper understanding of what it means to be human and truly how to live again – not just be alive.  This journey is about finding out how our family operates, how we can improve to be our best selves possibly and how we can support one another along this journey. Have we had bumps? Oh heck yes, and they are going to continue! These posts might not always be rosy, but I guarantee they will truly show the real sides to our family dynamic.  Just understand that these ups and downs are part of this whole journey (as you can see with 1 out of 3 on the right).   

CHEESE MITES WILL SUM IT ALL UP!

Let me give this to you as an example.  We ate cheese made by mites.  Yes, MITES!!  You read that correctly.  If Bill just bought home this Milbenkase cheese and asked the kids to try it, the eye rolls, looks to me for saving, and blatant reluctance would have been apparent.  Now, put that same experience trying Milbenkase in the cheese museum.  The kids drove 3 hours from Berlin with us to the “Museum” that was essentially 2 rooms in the museum director, Helmut’s, home.  He was so kind but did not speak a word of English.  

Through nods, body language, pictures and magazine articles he had plus lots of smiles, we eventually came to understand this particular mite cheesemaking process.  

Then the kids looked at the mites under a microscope.

Then they crawled all over Billy’s hand.

And then, yes, the kids ate the cheese!!

PUT US BACK IN OUR KITCHEN IN MARYLAND . . . WOULD IT HAVE HAPPENED SO EASILY?  

ABSOLUTELY NOT!  CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING!  

This year we are creating unique learning experiences by travelling the world to meet inspiring people and learn how they, in their own special ways live and feed themselves and we want to share all of that context with you!  Perhaps a picture you see or a blog you read will make you pause for a moment and think how that information can impact your life.  Maybe you will look at something like the mite cheese and be repulsed or, hopefully, you will look more deeply, consider the context, and use your imagination to consider how you might use this example to stretch the limits of your own kid’s diet to include more exotic foods let alone mite cheese 😉

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