Me, sans make-up, on the side of a mountain in Peru, in a dorky hat and wearing a dorky outfit. It doesn’t get any more “real” than this!
“You’re f@*king awesome,” a married girlfriend recently told me. “You prove that you don’t need a man, a house or security.” Convinced that my life was one of independence, freedom and adventure while hers was one of compromise, stagnancy and boredom, she went on to bemoan her failing marriage and mortgage. I mainly listened, although I believe I slipped in a mumbled, “the grass is always greener on the other side.”
It’s no secret that I’m not married, don’t work a normal 9-5, have my homebase in New York, and travel as much as I’m able. I’m viewed by many of my friends as a person who does what I want, when I want to do it. “You’re so lucky,” they tell my kid, who is alternatively educated and is my primary traveling partner.
I get innumerable emails from single parents (mostly moms) and recently separated parents who want to make the transition to homeschooling and/or travel. I give all the positive, ‘you-can-do-it’ advice I can muster. For the record, I mean every word of it. I absolutely believe a person can take charge of her (or his) life. Yet there’s always another side to the story…
I think it’s time to also share the other side of my situation; the dark side, if you will. Because make no mistake: my life isn’t all rainbows and unicorns. It’s really, really difficult, often lonely, and I sometimes wonder why the hell I’m doing what I’m doing. Here are some of my single parent travel realities that might surprise you. Continue reading →
My step-father, Alan, is a fearless man. He married my mom, after all, who, while being the best woman on the planet, had baggage of the heaviest sort… children, two of ‘em. Not only did Alan marry into an instant family, but he married knowing that my mom wasn’t interested in having more children. For better or for worse, Alan didn’t only marry my mom: he married into a ready-made family, complete with its own set of complicated issues that were created long before he was even in the picture.
