The thrill of a first passport with a visa for somewhere exotic, carrying all you own on your back, waiting for aerograms from family while on the road, visiting places you'd only ever seen in an encyclopedia, it was a magical time.

Raising children during a time where the cost of an overseas flight is not much more than a trip to "The Worlds" has given a very fortunate generation of families greater access to travel. Pre-COVID, jumping on a plane felt as easy as catching a bus. Yet, because it was so easy, I'd sometimes strangely have to deliberately choose to be excited.

With a year of no travel behind us, we are looking expectantly to vaccines and bubbles. During this pause I have noticed an unexpected joy in reminders of travel, with foreign films transporting me, along with different cultures' food and music.

Perhaps our experience of COVID allows us to consider a new perspective on how we choose to live?

It has made us notice that gratitude is part of the joy of an experience, and that often without gratitude we don't know what we've got until it's gone.

That working hard for something can make it more valued.

What else has this pause reminded us to be grateful for? And when the world opens, how will we remember that?

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