I left my husband and 3 kids for the first time for a work conference. I added 2 days at the end for some solo travel.

The author got to do some exploring after her work conference. Courtesy of Kris Ann Valdez At almost 38, I took my first solo trip and worried about navigating everything on my own. I learned that traveling alone made me more responsible, and I relished the time to myself. After years of planning family trips, following only my own interests felt freeing. I'm almost 38 years old, and I just took my first solo trip for a work conference in Dover, Delaware, this September. For a few months leading up to the trip, every time I thought about the logistics and emotions of leaving my kids , I felt a tight knot of anxiety. I was also nervous about traveling by myself to a large conference where the only person I knew was a work connection I'd only ever met via email.