March 11, 2013

Travel Without Kids

In less than a month I will be in China. From there, I head to Japan and then South Korea. I'm going alone, as I like being a solo woman traveler, but also I don't think it makes sense to drag my son along with me. That doesn't stop a lot of people asking me why.

First off, mostly people without kids ask me why I'm not taking my three-year-old on a 13-hour flight. I'm sure there are some special three-year-olds out there who wouldn't drive anyone insane on a 13-hour flight, but my child is not one of them. I don't think it's fair to him to do such a thing. Not only that, but why would I want to subject him to a 13-hour time change as well?

He's three. He's not going to remember this trip and be able to appreciate it or look back on it fondly. He craves routine, so why would I want to disrupt all that, jumping from hotel to hotel every night?

And how can I guarantee I will be able to find peanut butter and emergency bananas?

Why subject him to possibly unsanitary conditions?

What if I lost him in a foreign country?

The list could go on!
solo woman traveler without kids onequartermama.ca
from GoGoBabyz.com

The fact is, this is MY trip, MY dream, MY vacation. If someone doesn't share your dream, there is no point in dragging them around with you. It makes no difference if that someone is your lover, your best friend or your child. It will only make everyone resentful.

My whole life is about my son. I work for him, I live for him. I even travel away from him so I can come back refreshed.

When he is old enough, we can talk about his dreams and we can try to make them happen. But right now, let me live mine.


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