How a spontaneous overseas trip made me see my son in a whole new light | Nova Weetman

On a holiday in Japan, instead of mourning the child version of him, I saw the adult he was becoming

When my daughter went overseas on her gap-year adventure, my son and I found ourselves alone at home with the cat. Except for the odd Sunday morning at a local junk market and dinners with friends, we spent much of our time in separate rooms, coming together late in the day to eat dinner and maybe watch an episode of something, if we can agree. I know it's natural for teenagers to spend more time sequestered away in their bedrooms, but sometimes I find myself trying to think up ways to lure him out.

As a single parent, much of our household communication involves me reminding him to clean his room or eat his vegetables or do his homework. Little time is spent on the fun stuff, like the random holidays we used to take. The rough and ready camping trips with a tent that slept all of us, road trips in the Subaru, hoping we wouldn't break down, or a weekend stay in a dingy motel in a country town.