Adventures With Chloe

By Laurie Bower Epps

Meet Chloe. She's 10. She's precocious. But she's my sidekick, and my favorite photographer. Traveling with a 10 year old as a single mom can be different. Yet, she's my muse. I love to travel, and write. Our story has a realness to it. Traveling with a kid is quite different than go to a beach town with your friends. We're going to be hitting the road with my little traveler. Everything from day trips to every day outings, to taking a weeklong (or more) vacation, we'll give you the inside scoop.

Chloe's about to start middle school, and I don't know what to expect since they're all so different at that age. She's excited the most about playing in the orchestra. Chloe's played the violin since she was in second grade. She's actually pretty good at it!

Chloe hates exercise. When I plan a hiking outing, I almost have to sneak it up on her. With her asthma, it's kinda obvious why that wouldn't be her favorite thing. Her pulmonologist released her to participate in sports, and with my new job teaching this past fall, it opened up a lot of possibilities for her. So I asked her, "What sport do you want to try?" Chloe asked for ballet, and later admitted that she never believed that she'd get it. Here she is, Chloe started ballet this past January, and has her first show this June.

Lastly, Chloe is a Girl Scout and has been at it since she was in kindergarten. I don't have a current Girl Scout picture, but I can assure you, that I'm so relieved that cookie season is over! Sheesh! What we'll do for our kids, 'eh? 

Just like mommy, Chloe loves her swag. You never know where I'll drag my kid off to next, but I'm hoping that one day, she'll take over this little column of mommy's. Chloe's a lot of fun, and has a great personality. A little theatrical for some, but she's my shining star.