A Journey With My Son Into Mexico

The other day I saw a picture of my son and it made me think back to a time when I would be concerned about everything he did and would be in constant worry over whether or not I’m parenting my son correctly — whatever that means.

I was extremely fortunate to grow up with a father for the majority of my childhood. I’m honestly not quite sure how he stuck around as long as he did but being a father now and going on my second divorce I understand a lot better now what that must have felt like.

I’m constantly looking for ways to think different and like the fact that in business and in my personal life that I’m a contrarian to so many different things. Since the age of 8 — I’ve always thought a little different from how my peers did and I have to think that it’s the reason for where I find myself today but I digress.

Matching sweatshirts — oh yeah :)

After looking at this photo above of my son for over 15 minutes — I thought to myself, how am I creating memories that will last for a lifetime with my son. This turned into picking up my son within the hour and heading south. Let me say that — I know Mexico pretty well. I know where to go and where not to go. I know how to blend in and not stick out like a sore thumb. I do not advise going to this place on a whim unless you have very well thought out your route and also know something about the areas culture prior to going.

While I was packing my son I thought back to the old westerns I’d watch where the father would take his son on a journey and along the way he would learn a variety of different lessons and there would be this bonding experience that naturally but inevitably occurred between the two of them.

We picked Rosarito because again I knew the area very well and the beaches are very family oriented. They are also many people around and it’s a very public place nearly everywhere you go. My son adores the beach and I knew he’d been wanting to go for the past several months.

If you’re thinking to yourself you can’t do this — I can tell you I just did this on a 3 day weekend so it’s possible for anyone that has the ability to catch a flight or take a road trip. I definitely opt for the latter if they are over the age of 9 — if not fly.

My son opened up to me about what he was passionate about, what career paths he is wanting to pursue, what makes him sad, what makes him happy and I asked questions around how can I be a better dad. I can’t tell you enough how good this made me feel as his father. I also saw my son now start to appear more like a young man. When we’d talk it was as equals in public places and he sat up straighter and observed more manners.

I didn’t force any of this but I have to think it was because of him feeling more grown up in some regard that he was having a conversation with his dad that actually had some substance behind it versus the how are you doing today.

Here are some tips for travelling with your son and some things I recommend doing when you are exploring parts of any place with them…

1. Don’t worry about everything being perfect — it’s not going to happen. With COVID-19 that is not going to be possible anytime soon. Be safe when exploring these places in wearing your mask and constantly be sanitizing everything.
2. Encourage conversations around the areas you’re visiting. They are going to be receiving enormous amounts of input and their brains will be firing with what’s going on all around them. Be direct and honest when answering the many questions they have about this new place.
3. HAVE FUN. I can’t stress this enough. They are looking to you to really show them what life is all about and it’s not being the serious helicopter dad that you think you need to be 24/7. It’s allowing them to fully enjoy their surroundings and the people around them.
4. Be present and not on your phone. Yes you will have to navigate and yes you will need to find the best taco spot if you’re in Mexico. Pro tip — it’s downtown Tijuana in a food cart where you can grab twos for about $1.50.

In conclusion — you may think that you have all the time in the world to spend with your kids in getting to know them and all of that but you don’t. I was listening to Tools of Titans by Tim Ferris and there was a point he brought up that says that once your child has turned 18 you’ve essentially spent 90% of the time that you’re going to have with them. When you think about college, marriage, children, etc. this sounds fairly accurate.

Enjoy this time and truly treasure it because I can assure you they will…

Onward!