My Son is Headed for Asia

Like many single parent families, a ritual my son and I observed over the years was, "leaving home for a visit to Dad".  In our case this happened usually only once a year, as Paul's dad lives in Asia.

For his early years Paul's dad would come to visit us, but once Paul was the legal age to fly as an unaccompanied minor, he began to make the trip every summer for one month.

I thought long and hard about allowing this, and talked it over with several people. The general consensus was that kids have been successfully flying to visit parents, and grandparents for years, and all should be well.

Anyways he did successfully manage to fly overseas on his own (for flights of 14 hours), manage to get to know his Asian grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins, have a good time - and arrive back home in good shape. Still it was difficult to let him go.

I don't actually wish to condone suggest this action, this for anyone else, it is just "what we did". I think that now it isn't possible to send children as unaccompanied minors (basically on their own), on international flights, although I could be mistaken.


As you see, he's off again to visit his dad in Asia - and explore teaching options for next year when his degree is complete.

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Saying good by is something we've become used to over the years what with those overseas flights to see dad;  his traveling with the competitive sport of judo; and all his years away at school in Quebec. All the same I'm looking forward to his return in July!