Recently , my husband and three kids were playing in Mediterranean( 地中海 ) , swimming and floating in the picture perfect sea.It was ridiculously beautiful in Majorca , Spain.The way the sun danced across the water and how the blue horizon was dotted with storybook sailboats were such beautiful scenes. My husband and I always dreamed about taking our kids on a trip around the world.It was one of the things we talked at length about.When we imagined ourlife with the children , we hoped we would have. Four years later , we had three boys who were growing up faster by the day.It was time to make good on those plans.We renewed our passports , and then packed our bags.We showed our kids the world.It was about experiencing the dozens of flights and trains and taxis together.We showed them how wonderful , how diverse , and how fascinating the world is.We wanted them to learn all that we had learned ourselves , through our own travels. But there was something more than that : What we really wanted is to slow down time.We wanted the days to last a bit longer , and the weeks to take their time.The years with our children are going too fast.We wanted to put the brakes on our busy lives for a year , and just be with our kids.We wanted a break from the daily morning routine of lunches , eating breakfast and going out the door in time for school.We needed family time out. It was the wonderful two months in Europe , full of incredible moments.When we look back at our lives , I know we ' ll be glad we did it.I know we ' ll be happy that this is a chapter of the story of our family. 1