Adventure, Interrupted: And Still Worth It

The pace is slower. The packs are heavier. Someone always needs a snack, the toilet, or a turn being carried.

And still, it counts.

Adventure doesn’t disappear when kids enter the scene. It just changes shape. For many mothers, the wild is no longer an escape from responsibility but an extension of it: and that’s where the beauty lives.

This reflection is for the women navigating the push-pull of wanting to go further, faster, deeper, and choosing to go anyway, even when the going is stop-start and steeped in snack breaks.

It’s for the ones who once packed fast-and-light and now carry wipes, water bottles, and wonder in equal measure.

It’s for the mothers who are reclaiming movement in a world that often tells them to wait.

What Counts as Adventure Now?

• 3km bushwalks with a toddler stopping to look at every stick
• A coastal trail done in thongs because someone outgrew their hiking shoes
• Sleeping under the stars on a friend’s lawn because the national park felt too far today

It doesn’t have to be epic to be real. What matters is that it moves you.

Practical Tips for Hiking with Kids

1. Lower the bar, raise the experience. Let go of distance goals and focus on connection. The win is being outside.
2. Pack like a guide. Spare layers, easy snacks, small first aid. Not glamorous, but essential.
3. Let them lead (sometimes). It’s their adventure too. Give them moments of choice and independence.
4. Invite story. Turn obstacles into characters. Let the wind be a dragon. The ridge, a quest.
5. Celebrate the attempt. Didn’t make it to the summit? No problem. You made it outside, together.

The Deeper Win

When we adventure with our kids, we’re not just making memories. We’re modelling resilience, curiosity, and spaciousness.

We’re teaching them that the wild is not separate from real life, it’s part of how we process it.

And even when we’re interrupted, slowed down, or covered in crumbs, we’re still out there.

That counts for everything.

Reflection Prompt

What version of adventure is available to me now—and how can I let it count without comparison?