In the span of two weeks I said goodbye to three of my four kids. This is what it actually looks like.

Playa Bonita, Las Terrenas. July 2022. Two of them, before they went their own way.

While enjoying a month of nomadic activity in Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic, I have been breaking up with my children.

Not metaphorically. Not "finding my own space." Breaking up — the goodbye kind, the kind that reshapes everything that comes after it.

The plan from earlier this year was simple: break up with one. The other wasn't supposed to go until January 2023. Life, as it tends to do, had different ideas.

josiah in our home in altamonte springs, fl on his 20th birthday

Goodbye, Josiah

I just separated from Josiah, my 20-year-old, who attends university in Winter Park, Florida — the area I've now left for an indefinite period of time.

The only thing left there is him, our 2 family dogs, and a storage unit. He's living with roommates in off-campus student housing, which is exactly where he should be at 20. He's not new to the area — we lived there from 2013 to 2015, and both Josiah and Isis were born there. This is our family's third stint in Florida.

He was living with me all his life until this trip. I drove from his new place to the hotel with Jovan and Isis to fly out the next day, and I cried and cried.

I knew he needed to go. I know that, clearly, in every rational part of my brain. Knowing it doesn't stop the ache of driving away from your child's door for the last time as a daily part of his life.

isis in playa bonita in las terrenas in July 2022

Goodbye, Isis

My daughter Isis, 18, plans to leave for a college of arts and design in Savannah, Georgia in January 2023. Due to unexpected circumstances, the break-up came earlier than we planned.

She left two weeks early — to Puerto Rico, to meet my oldest, Tristan (26), and to visit her paternal grandmother on the island for the first time. After Puerto Rico, she goes to California to work and save money until January.

So: two break-ups in the span of two weeks. Two of my little angels, two goodbyes, back to back.

The Teenager Who Isn't Sure He's On Board

Jovan, my 15-year-old, who is still here and technically with me, is not sure he wants to keep traveling. This is the same child who was enthusiastic about every single conversation we had about this — and we had it a gazillion times. That is parenting a teenager: enormous buy-in, and then the moment it becomes real, someone's not so sure anymore.

It's unpredictable, unstable, and "roller coastery." (Stealing that phrase from my tarot lady. She earned the attribution.)

So I went from 3 children at home to 1.

I always wanted to show my kids that there's a WHOLE world out there that is our playground — so many things to see, people to meet, ways of living that bear no resemblance to what we were handed. Lots of smart people now understand that you learn about the world by experiencing it, not just reading or hearing about it. If I had it my way I would have taken my kids out of the US in 2012 like I really wanted to. I regret not doing it.

Another reason to travel young, with young kids: they won't develop the bad American habits. We're raised to be entitled and it's engraved in us from so early. You don't see how deep it goes until you spend real time in other cultures. The world is a huge place. If you're able to go, go.

The Breakup with Jovan Is a Different Kind

Even though Jovan isn't physically leaving me — he's just currently expressing his feelings about this whole arrangement — I'm still going through a sort of break-up with him, simply because he's 15.

A fellow soccer mom I met once said that kids turning into teenagers is like going through a divorce. She was so right.

They go from innocent, optimistic children to these pessimistic, moody, downright rude, and sometimes even nasty beings. This person who admired you and adored you and worshipped the ground you walked on now cannot stand you. They don't want to hear ANYTHING you have to say. They don't want your opinion, your directions, or your advice. All of a sudden they know it all.

And let's not even get into when they turn 18 — which is what I'm going through with Isis right now. I didn't go through the 18itis with my two oldest.

I still speak my mind to them. I don't care if they don't want to hear it. I know that someday those words will play back in their heads like a rewound 80s cassette tape and they'll say "mom was right." I've already seen it happen. It still doesn't take away the pain of breaking up with your once sweet, innocent, loving child.

To be honest, my kids are still awesome — even during the pesky teenage and young adult years. They're great kids. They hardly gave me any trouble. One gave me none. Two gave me a little bit.

Isis being the most recent — with a situation she got herself into while she was 17. I thought I'd escaped unscathed from the 15- and 16-year-old drama. Nope. It came at 17 and turned ugly at 18. She's better now, but still in recovery mode — hence the not getting along for a while there.

❤️‍🔥 Personal: Breaking Up with My Children — What Nobody Tells You About Becoming a Nomad Mom

In the span of two weeks I said goodbye to three of my four kids. This is what it actually looks like.

Goodbye, Josiah

I just separated from Josiah, my 20-year-old, who attends university in Winter Park, Florida — the area I've now left for an indefinite period of time.

He was living with me all his life until this trip. I drove from his new place to the hotel with Jovan and Isis to fly out the next day, and I cried and cried.

I knew he needed to go. I know that, clearly, in every rational part of my brain. Knowing it doesn't stop the ache of driving away from your child's door for the last time as a daily part of his life.

Goodbye, Isis

My daughter Isis, 18, plans to leave for a college of arts and design in Savannah, Georgia in January 2023. Due to unexpected circumstances, the break-up came earlier than we planned.

She left two weeks early — to Puerto Rico, to meet my oldest, Tristan (26), and to visit her paternal grandmother on the island for the first time. After Puerto Rico, she goes to California to work and save money until January.

So: two break-ups in the span of two weeks. Two of my little angels, two goodbyes, back to back.

The Teenager Who Isn't Sure He's On Board

It's unpredictable, unstable, and "roller coastery." (Stealing that phrase from my tarot lady. She earned the attribution.)

So I went from 3 children at home to 1.

Another reason to travel young, with young kids: they won't develop the bad American habits. We're raised to be entitled and it's engraved in us from so early. You don't see how deep it goes until you spend real time in other cultures. The world is a huge place. If you're able to go, go.

The Breakup with Jovan Is a Different Kind

Even though Jovan isn't physically leaving me — he's just currently expressing his feelings about this whole arrangement — I'm still going through a sort of break-up with him, simply because he's 15.

A fellow soccer mom I met once said that kids turning into teenagers is like going through a divorce. She was so right.

And let's not even get into when they turn 18 — which is what I'm going through with Isis right now. I didn't go through the 18itis with my two oldest.

To be honest, my kids are still awesome — even during the pesky teenage and young adult years. They're great kids. They hardly gave me any trouble. One gave me none. Two gave me a little bit.

Isis being the most recent — with a situation she got herself into while she was 17. I thought I'd escaped unscathed from the 15- and 16-year-old drama. Nope. It came at 17 and turned ugly at 18. She's better now, but still in recovery mode — hence the not getting along for a while there.

This Too Shall Pass

So: one break-up is metaphoric, with Jovan. Two are actual physical goodbyes — Josiah and Isis.

All I can say is "this too shall pass."

The phases of life.... (sigh)

Gypsy Spirit Me

Your Awakened Financial Architect

❤️‍🔥 Personal: Breaking Up with My Children — What Nobody Tells You About Becoming a Nomad Mom

In the span of two weeks I said goodbye to three of my four kids. This is what it actually looks like.

Goodbye, Josiah

I just separated from Josiah, my 20-year-old, who attends university in Winter Park, Florida — the area I've now left for an indefinite period of time.

He was living with me all his life until this trip. I drove from his new place to the hotel with Jovan and Isis to fly out the next day, and I cried and cried.

I knew he needed to go. I know that, clearly, in every rational part of my brain. Knowing it doesn't stop the ache of driving away from your child's door for the last time as a daily part of his life.

Goodbye, Isis

My daughter Isis, 18, plans to leave for a college of arts and design in Savannah, Georgia in January 2023. Due to unexpected circumstances, the break-up came earlier than we planned.

She left two weeks early — to Puerto Rico, to meet my oldest, Tristan (26), and to visit her paternal grandmother on the island for the first time. After Puerto Rico, she goes to California to work and save money until January.

So: two break-ups in the span of two weeks. Two of my little angels, two goodbyes, back to back.

The Teenager Who Isn't Sure He's On Board

It's unpredictable, unstable, and "roller coastery." (Stealing that phrase from my tarot lady. She earned the attribution.)

So I went from 3 children at home to 1.

Another reason to travel young, with young kids: they won't develop the bad American habits. We're raised to be entitled and it's engraved in us from so early. You don't see how deep it goes until you spend real time in other cultures. The world is a huge place. If you're able to go, go.

The Breakup with Jovan Is a Different Kind

Even though Jovan isn't physically leaving me — he's just currently expressing his feelings about this whole arrangement — I'm still going through a sort of break-up with him, simply because he's 15.

A fellow soccer mom I met once said that kids turning into teenagers is like going through a divorce. She was so right.

And let's not even get into when they turn 18 — which is what I'm going through with Isis right now. I didn't go through the 18itis with my two oldest.

To be honest, my kids are still awesome — even during the pesky teenage and young adult years. They're great kids. They hardly gave me any trouble. One gave me none. Two gave me a little bit.

Isis being the most recent — with a situation she got herself into while she was 17. I thought I'd escaped unscathed from the 15- and 16-year-old drama. Nope. It came at 17 and turned ugly at 18. She's better now, but still in recovery mode — hence the not getting along for a while there.

This Too Shall Pass

So: one break-up is metaphoric, with Jovan. Two are actual physical goodbyes — Josiah and Isis.

All I can say is "this too shall pass."

The phases of life.... (sigh)

🌍 Travel: What Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic Is Actually Like — A Month-Long Honest Review

❤️‍🔥 Personal: The Blog Starts Here — Why I Left Everything Behind

Gypsy Spirit Me

Your Awakened Financial Architect