“My desire to know the world has only ever been eclipsed by my desire to experience that knowledge with others.” ~ Victoria G.
Hi, I’m TheyFlySolo. I grew up in a desolate field somewhere in central Maine. As a child, I spent most of my free time reading books or being dragged around the great outdoors by my family and dreaming about faraway lands.
Yes, I can hunt, fish, and track animals, though I don’t. Yes, I’ve had poison ivy down there – gotta watch those small 3-leaf bushes in the summer.
Fun facts about me: I hate snow and lobster, and I really hate being cold and wet. I didn’t make a very good Mainer, and I left the state for the big city of Boston before the ink dried on my diploma.
I have always been captivated by traveling to new locations. As a young adult, I saved every extra penny I earned for travel. I’ve taken a Greyhound bus from Augusta, ME, all the way down to New Orleans, LA, to see what Mardi Gras was all about, and I’ve been out of the country 50 times and counting.
I always knew that travel would be a part of my life, but I never expected to do it alone with my kids. Unfortunately, that’s precisely what happened.
On March 24th, 2019, my husband unexpectedly passed away, leaving me widowed with two small children at 33. The following year a global pandemic brought the entire world to a halt. It was not a good personal experience and was not in line with my ambitions.
But as the new normal dawned, I, like many other parents that were blessed to be at home with their children non-stop in a small house for more than a year, began to wonder… What would my family’s future look like when it came to travel?
I was afraid to travel by myself with my children. A couple hours’ drive to the extended family’s more prominent vacation spot in nice weather during daylight hours was fine. Even a trip into Boston, with its notoriously bad traffic and parking situation from our Western MA home, didn’t bother me.
Flying somewhere entirely new, alone with my children? No way! I worried that someone would get lost in the airport. I worried that I’d get horribly maimed on the trip. I worried that we’d suddenly be kidnapped and ransomed for Bitcoin. I had endless worries.
So, I did what I would expect any other rational human being to do faced with these worries – I asked my single friends and families what they did about it, and this is when I learned that almost every single parent I know is afraid to travel alone with their kids.
We’re not afraid of travel, though; if we were, we wouldn’t have ever traveled before we found ourselves single. No, single parents are afraid to travel with their kids because they don’t believe in their own capabilities.
The belief that if something goes wrong, we can’t handle it holds us back.
I started TheyFlySolo to help other parents who, like myself, want to travel with their children but are afraid to do so alone. You don’t have to be alone; we can figure it out together.
This blog is written directly from my perspective as someone who has forced myself over that wall, and I detail the good, the bad, and the downright ugly of the adventures I’ve had and continue to have traveling alone with my two kids.
I hope that by sharing these ideas, lessons, tips, and destinations, I can reduce the fear and anxiety of all single parents I know about traveling with their children because every trip with your kids truly is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Enjoy!