Roadmap with Irina - July 2026

You probably saw my posts on social media about our recent trip to the East Coast. I try to travel with my kids at least once a year to places we've never been before. Besides discovering new places, I always find something interesting about myself and my relationships with the people I travel with.

While hiking in Acadia National Park in Maine, I twisted my ankle very badly, and when I returned from the trip, I found out that I had actually broken the bone in two places. I am having surgery on Tuesday, so wish me luck. Our host in Acadia told me that local doctors call it "Orthopedic National Park," so I am just one of many injured tourists there. It has never happened to me before, so it led to Discovery #1: I managed to live to my age without any major injuries: no broken bones, dislocated joints, twisted limbs, etc. As you can guess, after the incident, I could do only very limited activities, and it was very painful and upsetting. The kids are old enough, so they continued hiking, swimming, and exploring without me. I hope it is not related to my age; next time I will just make sure that I am better prepared for any physical activity.

After my injury, nobody was really going to slow down, and it led me to Discovery #2: my kids haven't really seen me very sick or disabled. I've always been very active and healthy, so they don't have any experience taking care of me. They love me and are ready to help, but it looks like when you are sick, everyone is busy, and I have to wait. I don't like being dependent. We have different schedules, and I have to wait until they are available, explain what I want them to do and how to do it, and accept their way of doing things. Sometimes it is very annoying, but I guess I just have to surrender and take it easy.

Discovery #3: I felt like my mother-in-law for the first time. We've been traveling with my older son and his wife. They are very young, but they've already been married for four years, and they live separately. A few times during our trip, there were situations when I wanted to give them my advice or opinion because I saw them doing something wrong from my perspective. I realized that my opinion doesn't carry much weight for them. They see things from a different angle, so interfering would only create tension that nobody would benefit from. So I kept my mouth shut. Now I understand and appreciate my mother-in-law even more: she has never tried to share her opinion on anything or teach me unless I asked her to. I am sure this is the most important part of our great relationship. From now on, I will be like my mother-in-law if I want to protect my relationships with all my kids.

Life never stops surprising us with new findings and discoveries about ourselves and the people we love. Not all of them are pleasant, but we shouldn't fight them. It is better to adjust our own behavior and expectations because those are the only things we have control over.

Stay healthy and enjoy the rest of your summer!