GOING SOLO

Claire Waite Brown, 52, hadn't travelled alone for over 30 years

- MISHAAL KHAN

Showing my boarding card I took a deep breath and headed towards the plane, feeling a mixture of excitement and nerves. I still couldn’t quite believe what I was doing. At 52, this was my first solo trip abroad in three decades – something I never would have contemplated just a few years ago.

For years my life revolved around my family. My husband Andrew worked as an IT sales manager, while I worked as a freelance editor and juggled raising our two children. We spent many happy years going on family holidays, including to Spain and Bulgaria. Even when the kids grew up and were old enough to fend for themselves at home, Andrew and I enjoyed breaks in Croatia, Malta and New York.

MAKING CONNECTIONS

I often thought back to my younger days, when I’d had the time and freedom to channel my creativity with dance classes of all genres. For a few years, I taught dance classes for adults which I loved, but the pandemic put a stop to that. Meanwhile, I chatted to like-minded people who spoke about having left their creativity behind as they moved into adulthood and raising their families.