Being a mum is great. Being a single mum is not all that bad. Being a mum to a six year old hyperactive son… Now that is where things get complicated. Alex and I have been traveling ever since he was really little. Our experiences have bordered in boring to really exciting. Then again boring or not depended on whose perspective you were looking at the experience from.
Our initial adventures were calm strolls through different cities. Why? In case you haven’t noticed, it is really hard to push a one year old son who sits in a pram across any kind of rugged terrain. I’m not a really strong person, so lugging a heavy child and a load of luggage isn’t something that I looked forward to. Don’t be quick to judge though. I still traveled unlike many parents who don’t.
I’ve wandered through beaches and visited more than my share of museums. I have never regretted any moment of it. In fact when I look at Alex, I am inspired to indulge my wanderlust even more. Of late, I have noticed that my little man has grown. His views on what adventures are has changed a lot. It’s difficult keeping up with the changing mindset of a six year old. Since his latest passion involved cars and races, I decided to search for an adventure that would suit his needs.
I didn’t want to do anything extreme and I still wanted to emphasize how important road safety was. Like I have said a zillion times… Traveling can be used to teach your child life lessons. That is how I ensure that Alex gets his.
This holiday was planned in Ireland. I planned to rent a car and drive. Now I am a pretty good driver but even I was nervous when it came to travelling on these roads. I planned to take Alex on some of the scariest roads that Ireland had to offer. I mean what better way for a mother to indulge her son’s craving for adrenaline?
I had a few roads on my shortlist. The ‘Old Military road’ in Co. Wicklow was my primary choice. If I was going to drive down a crazy road, the scenery definitely had to be worth my while. If you have seen pictures of this road you will know why the Old Military road ranked high on my list. Suffice to say that I managed to navigate through the road alive. It had a lot of crazy turns. There were a number of places which offered a lot of blind spots but I was careful.
Did Alex enjoy it? Oh yes he did! In fact he was ecstatic. I managed to teach him about how every road has its dangers. Alex evened learned that over speeding is never good. Real life experiences are always the best teachers. They make impressions that do not wash away with time. I’m glad I took the time off from my busy schedule to make a trip to Ireland. It is a trip that neither my son nor I will ever forget. Here is an Awesome Info-Graphic From Chill.ie That Alex really likes.
