One Mom, 17 Hours of travel, and a Whole Lot of Nerves

Bula! After a three-week break, I’m back—and in this episode of The Family of One, I share what it was like to travel to Fiji by myself, without my family.

I was nervous. Really nervous. Just the traveling part, navigating airports, and stepping into the unknown. But that stretch outside my comfort zone gave me courage and a creative spark that’s helping me keep writing and creating.

This trip reminded me that sometimes, the journey itself is the breakthrough.

🎧 Tune in for honest reflections, travel jitters, and a gentle nudge to keep going even when the path feels unfamiliar.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:04

Hey amazing only child moms, I'm Paul Comic, your part-time working man friend who loves Yahweh, family and fun. Welcome to the Family of One who reach your joys and adventures of raising an only child. Expect relatable stories, parenting laughs, and faithful tips. Let's make small family life enjoyable. Woo! Welcome! So I guess you didn't expect this. And if you didn't, well, usually when I record my podcast, I just usually have the audio on. But I thought, you know what? How about I just mix things up a little bit? And this time I'll turn the camera on. So then you'll get to know one. Do I look the same in 2025? If you had been on my uh YouTube page and there's some old videos of me, I think I kind of look the same. I think my skin is nice. Come on, skin, be cool. And I do have some gray hairs, but look, that's what you call wisdom. She's so lovely, wisdom. And then also, I thought, you know, maybe it might encourage you. If she can, this woman, if she can speak, looking like this beautiful self coming on, encouraging you all. Maybe it might encourage you to do something with what you want to do. I don't know with the time you have, with the resources that are given to you. Okay, so this episode, I really wanted to talk about what I have been up to in the past three weeks. That's why I have not done any podcast episodes. So I went on a vacation without my family. Sure did. And what was that like? Well, first, it was my first time being away from my child. That was nerve-wracking for me as a mum. I mean, she was totally fine. She was fine. Her and my husband, I mean, my husband, I wondered how are they gonna manage five days without me? I mean, I was wondering leading up to it, and I even said this one point, do I need to hire a nanny? No, I did not. Do I need to have friends come in and check up on them and see if she's going to school, that she's having a shower, if they're going to have dinner? I mean, all these things. Who are gonna do the laundry? Who's gonna put the laundry away? Who's gonna make her lunch? Seriously. I was wondering how is it, how are they gonna function without me? Now maybe you have already been there and you're like, you need to calm down, lady, because they are good. This was my first time. This is my first time, like when I mean first time, I was like wondering, how is the household gonna manage without me? Like, is it really shall I set up nanny cameras? Cameras around, how do I need a call on family? Do I need to tell all the neighbors this is where I'm gonna be? Call me. Well, let me tell you how they did. They did wonderful. I mean, seriously, I could not well I was in Fiji. Fee if you have not been to Fiji, I tell you, it is amazing. The place we went to was amazing, the people I was with was amazing, it was so relaxing. I absolutely love Fiji to so to my Fiji and family. I mean, I'm Samoan, but Fiji and they are also Pacific Island people, they uh amazing. So if you can go to Fiji, go to Fiji, the beautiful, beautiful place, and also if you can go to Samoa, go Samoa. It's amazing. Well, actually, and I've also been to the Cook Islands, that is amazing. Okay, can I just name you're probably thinking, I'm here to listen to the Family of One podcast, not the travel podcast. One day, maybe I will do a travel podcast. But getting back to the topic of when was the first time you traveled without your husband and child, and what was it like being away from them for the first night? So I wondered, like for myself, oh my goodness. Okay, so I'm the type of person, maybe you're already thinking like, hey, I travel all the time, it's fine. My you know, my husband and child they can manage without me. And I love traveling. You may be saying that I'm really a homebody, and when it comes to traveling, where we do travel as a family, this is so funny because I, my husband, he will plan things, and then he will navigate where we need to go from A to B, and then I'll just follow his lead. Sure, could I do it? Yes, but most times I just rely on him. I do all the packing, I make sure all the things we need, like clothes, whatever. I'm like the 100% support person. I got you. But you lead the way, you know where we're going. So this is what I had to do. Okay, so I was going to Chicago, Chicago to Dallas, and then Dallas, catch plane. Oh, I'm catching plane anyway, but I'm going to Fiji and then back. But here's the thing: I inside, I made it there safely and back. Train to the plane to get to the right gate. Let's just say the first time when I said goodbye to my husband and beautiful child on the train, I was crying inside because I was so nervous. I was telling myself, you amazing woman, you're gonna have a good time. And this is a tip if you're someone like me, like this is you don't usually like to travel that much, but when you do, you want someone to make sure that you're on the right track. So I asked my husband, I don't know what app he used, and where you can he can track you, so make sure he knows where you are. I said, I would feel more comfortable if you track. So if I go catch the wrong train, or who knows where, you know where I would be going. So he did that. I felt better, and of course I had my cell phone on, so I was texting him the whole time with crying emojis because there was one point I really thought that I took the wrong train, and it was hilarious. I really thought big because okay, so when you go to Chicago and you're going to the O'Hara airport, there's trains that clearly tell you what train to catch, like the blue line. Okay, so there's specific trains, and you cannot miss it, it's clearly displayed on the train. So as I was waiting at the train station, and I knew I was like, okay, it's just the blue line. Catch the blue line, it's going to say blue line, like there's nothing else like blue line, blue line, and then I started seeing people coming with their suitcases, and I'm thinking, you know what? They look like a person who's going to the airport. Why would they be coming in their suitcases? Or, you know, they look like they have a lot of luggage. I think that we all catch in the same train. Well, as the train was coming and going, and I saw this train and it said O'Hara with a plane, it had a plane logo on the train, and like everybody started to walk towards it to get on it, you know, when it stopped, and I thought, oh, I need to get on that train. Even though it didn't say blue line, I thought, okay, that's common sense. One it has says O'Hara, and that's where I'm going, and then there's a plane on next to it, so it must be the airport. So then I get on the train, and let's just say there's some interesting people on the train as well. And so I'm now texting my husband, and I'm saying, I think I'm on the wrong train because it did not say blue line. And I'm like, oh my goodness, I'm on the O'Hara train. And then I took a picture. I'm still second guessing myself. I took a picture of where the destination is going. Because when you go on the train, it tells you all the stops from where you want to go, from where you got on the station to where you want to go. And even though it said, Yeah, you're gonna go at the O'Hara station airport where I wanted to go, because I was still freaked out, deep down inside, wondering, Am I still on? And he's texting me back and he's like laughing. He goes, One, what you're on the he's giving me encouragement. He goes, You're on the right train, calm down. And then not only did I thought, you know what, he's just probably telling me to calm down, but I'm not sure. Then I started to speak to AI, like the AI. So I'm speaking to AI, and then I'm speaking to my husband to reconfirm, oh my goodness, I think I'm on the wrong train, and there's some suspects on the train. And these people, these other passengers, let's just say they're minding their own business, but I felt like, oh my goodness, they need a what is going on. Now they're probably looking at me thinking this lady is giving anxiety vibes. She is she's sitting there, but if you were to see me like, what is going on with this lady? She's sitting in silence, she's looking at her phone, and she's really giving the oh my goodness, what am I doing?

SPEAKER_01: 10:13

Where am I going? What is going on, vibe?

SPEAKER_00: 10:19

Yeah, anywho, long story short, it was the correct train station. It was a correct train, and it was going in the correct direction where it was supposed to be. And this is funny about me because when you ask me for directions, if I say go left, I go right, if I say go right, I go up. You say go up, I go sideways. I mean, and my family members, they know this about me. And so, would you typically ask me for directions? I mean, if you love the journey and you want to go a little bit longer, but look, I am getting better. I'm a lot better where I was before. The I usually will ask someone, hey, you're probably best to follow this person if you just want to get there. If you want to go for a longer journey and enjoy the scenic route, you still get there. I'll make sure you get there. But I I definitely know where my strengths are. So I eventually got to the O'Hara airport and then getting there to the gate. And I tell you what, my husband and daughter, I think my child, she was giving me so much encouragement. She was calling me, say, You got this, mom, you are, you can do it, it's okay. And I was thinking, oh my goodness, I am stepping out of my comfort zone. I'm so amazing, and I'm and people were so nice. I mean, the the people at the gate were nice, the even people I was meeting just walking past. I felt like it was a good environment to travel that day because I did not have any hiccups. The only hiccups were me inside dealing in my emotions. So I wondered when you traveled by yourself, you were going somewhere without your family for a night, or you're sleeping, or maybe you're going for the weekend. You know, what was that like? Did you enjoy it? I mean, I was so surprised. I was like, you can do it. You know, speaking to my spirit, you can do it. I was speaking to my soul, come on, so come on, dig deep. This is not a time to let me down. My body, my body is trying to get us there, and my spirit is encouraging so you need to come and be positive with us. I was speaking to all of me, and when I mean all of me, all of me like, come on. And then when you get through the gain of security, you don't want to look like you're hiding something, you don't want to even look like you're stressing out because then they'll pull you to a side, which I did because for some reason, you know, you go through the the detector and I don't know, there's a few of us that got ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. I don't think it maybe it was a thousand hair clips. Well, I don't think I put any hair clips in in my hair, as you can see, it's all nice and curly. I didn't put any because I did not want to get stopped, but anyway, I had to go through where they scan, you know, you put your hands up, and then the the 360 thing goes around you. That was fine. Oh, overall, and you did not have to take your shoes off. So, for those who are traveling, when I went through the airport for you know, where you go and they go through where they check your luggage and everything, and then it goes through the scan part, yeah. And I was like, man, and I wore sandals, but I was thinking maybe I could have worn some sneakers because my feet were kind of cold, so yeah, they didn't we didn't have to take our shoes off, even when we went to Dallas, and then even going through the security in Fiji, I had I didn't need to take my shoes off, so I was like, that's nice, and maybe you already knew that because you traveled quite a bit. So, what was one of the tips? One one tip is one, you know, if you're on your phone and you have I'm sure you do, maybe not, but who knows? If you can ask your husband to put the tracker on you if you feel more comfortable for those who are like way ahead of me, and you're like, I don't need a tracker on my phone because I'm fine, then don't do it. But for the rest of you who are like me traveling for the first time, and you want to make sure you can talk to someone and you don't know what to say, like where are you? I don't know where I am. I'm just standing in the street in a shop, and there's like a red car and it's facing towards the the blue, the blue house with a cat that's walking across, you know what I mean. Then maybe you need a tracker so that your husband can see where you are and then redirect you in the place that you need to be. So, one thing I learned about that is too, not only did I step out of my comfort zone, but it's all it deep down when I was able to do that as I was doing that, and then I got to my destination, I was so proud of myself because it really made me look at how many other things that if I just took a chance and that I have the technology available and I have the support that I can do it. Now, it may be something else, like for example, and this is gonna be I started also look, can you see it? I have started creating these horse show checklists, checklists, checklist books. Now, this is hilarious because my daughter, she's an equestrian. Can you call them an equestrian when they've been writing for five years? I don't know. Maybe there's some actual equestrians, professional equestrians, where they say, You gotta wait till you start winning competitions. I don't know, but I'm just saying, my child she rides horses, and as a mom who's also learning this, like this life, I wanted to create some books for other moms who, when you go to horse shows, like, okay, so I need a list, and I want her and I learn together, and I want her to write what she needs. So I created and I'll put it look if you want what some of these books give me a message and I will I will send it out to you. So here, this is this is my first book, and I was so happy with it, and then at the back, right? But when you open it up, so I only put down horse, so this is hilarious. So you open it up, lovely with the lines and everything. But my husband and Dora, they thought it was hilarious. They said, Oh yes, we finally have a checklist for our horse shows because we don't know what you know we can be prepared for the next time. And they open it up and they said, Mom, you only have horse there, like there's nothing else. And then they said, Is that it? Did you just prank someone? And I said, Well, here's my thought is that maybe the child and the mom or the trainer, the parent, can write their own list. See, this is just to get you started. And then I said, Because everyone's different when you go to different horse shows, so I knew at least bring the horse, and they thought that was so funny, they thought that's the most funniest checklist. I've created other books as well, it gets better than that, so there's that one as well. Oh my goodness, and my husband, and the reason why I was how is that related? Is because I was stepping out of my comfort zone to create other books, and if I was nervous, like traveling, it was the first time, don't know how know how to create books on Amazon, but I wanted just to start and do something with the technology that's available and with the support I have. So if that's like you and you're wondering, man, I mean, you might say, Well, I'm not going to another country by myself and traveling, but maybe it's like you going away, like some of the moms, they go to like a woman's retreat. I was speaking to a husband, and he said, his wife, but she had multiple children, and her kids are similar to my daughter, and he was saying he had to like get take his wife, make sign her up, and because last year last year she went to this woman's retreat, but she didn't want to spend the night, she just felt a bit nervous, and I'll be like, Oh yeah, that would be me. You know, I wouldn't want to spend the night there at the woman's retreat for the weekend. I I'm like that, I would want to come home. And so the second, like this year, he he said, he told her, No, this time you are going to spend the night there at the woman's retreat, and there's friends there that she already knows. And then he said, Do not call back. Because I I cracked up and I said, Why is that? And he said, Because the woman's retreat for this place where she was going, it's going to be so good for her. She doesn't, you know, they're just gonna pamper them and they're gonna have fun. And he said, She had fun last year, but I just knew that if she went and just spent the night, it would just be good for her. And he said, He was joking, and he said he wouldn't pick up the phone if she wanted to come home, and I thought that was so good. And I wonder how many mums out there that are like her or me. Like if someone said, Hey, we're going to a woman's retreat for the weekend, or we're going for a girls' trip for two days, or maybe even longer, would you go? Now, because I've experienced what it's like not to, I mean, what's it like to travel without my family? I'm thinking, did I enjoy it? Not the traveling part. Would I have liked my child and my husband to come with me? Yes. I mean, because I I love traveling with them and going on vacations with them when we do go on vacations. I mean, as a family, I absolutely enjoy their company. I mean, do they enjoy my company? Because when I get there, I just want to eat and sleep. They like to explore, they will go explore, and I'm like, okay, mommy's here. I just want to get a spa. I just want to see what the food is available, and I just want to sleep. I just want to be left alone. And they're like, Mom, my husband and daughter, they like to do things and go, go, go, go, go. But I will go and do those things with those people. But I I just prefer to follow the I will follow like people do all this stuff, I will go off the floor. Otherwise, if it's just me, I'm just gonna like putz around the hotel and you know, stay by and not venture out. I mean, if you want someone to travel with you and you want to make all the decisions and you plan everything because you love that, I am the best person to travel with you because I'll just go ahead and do what you want to do. I'll be like, sure that everything sounds amazing. I be up to it. I'll just go with the flow. Otherwise, if it's just me, I'll be like, I'm just gonna go to sleep. And that's pretty much it. So here's the thing. I hope that this episode has encouraged you to maybe look into it. Maybe you're thinking, I'm not ready there. I'm not ready yet. My child is, I cannot, I love to stay, I'm not ready yet, to be away one night from my child. That is okay, everyone is different, and it took me a many years. I mean, my child is like going on, she's eight. So, and even then, the reason why I did it because I thought, you know what, you're gonna have an amazing time when you go away. And then when I got there, I had an amazing time, and then I took a picture. I mean, yes, you have pictures on your cell phones, right? Of your family, but I my daughter gave me a physical picture of her of our of her and her father, and I put it beside my bedside, my you know, on the table, and then it was so hilarious because the others that were traveling that were there, they're like my sister and and my cousin, they're like, What is that? And I they were laughing. And because every time my husband travels, when he does travel for work, we give him a photo of you know myself and my daughter, we will give it to him, like a physical photo. So that might help. I don't know. So just letting you know, family, moms, that might help when you go. I and also my daughter, she gave me like a little horse, so just little trinkets. Now you told her, I can if you give me those little trinkets, I can not too much, but I can put it by my bedside. So I take a little photo and I may take a little soft toy of hers. So maybe, maybe this might be your year, or maybe there's a woman's retreat, or there's something that you want to do where there it does involve sleeping the night, or you might be, you know, the uh husband's wife, and she's super awesome, where you go for a half a day, and then you sign up the next year, and then you sleep at night time there at the place. You know, you gotta go at the step you're comfortable, and then also you gotta have it's okay if it doesn't work out, and then you end up going back home, like you said. You know, I did sign up for the retreat and sleep over the night. I changed my mind, I'm coming back home to sleep. It's okay too. You know why? Because it's your business, as um Tabitha Brown would say, she's amazing. You just do what you feel comfortable with. Look, and what I say, I say just do what you can with the resource you have, with the time that's given, with the technology that's available, with the support you have. Oh my gosh, my signs are getting longer and longer, aren't they? Well, I just want to say thank you for listening to this podcast. And you're wondering, you know what? This podcast is so hilarious. So I just want to give a shout out, and I always like to do this to my listeners. This is with the last podcast, the last episode from London, England, San Antonio, Texas, Oldsma, Florida, Dub, Dublin, Leinster, Spa, Sparteburg, South Carolina, Sydney, New Wales, and someone in Goshen, Indiana. Thank you. I just want to say thank you for listening to my podcast and supporting it. I absolutely appreciate it. Now, if you have any questions you want to ask me about my book that's also coming out, the period book. And also, I'm still excited. News about the period book. Here's just a copy, a draft of it right here. So uh happy about that. That will be coming out soon. There's a waiting list, so you got to sign up for that as well. But if you would also like to get your hands on and you have an equestrian at your house that uh would love to get a book, let me know, and I will send that out to you. Okay, thank you for listening. My name is for like the number four. I will you will see me in the next episode. Bye.