When My Son Chose His Dad

From single parenthood to life on the road as the every-other-weekend-mom

Morgana K Sylvana
Human Parts

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young boy standing next to his mother, overlooking the sea from a railing, viewed from the back.
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

“I’ve been thinking, I’d like to try living with Dad when we move out of this house.”

I’m totally unprepared for these words from my nine-year-old son, Jay.

I’ve just arrived back from the last big festival of the summer, where as well as holding writing workshops, I’ve danced and sung myself into a state of bliss. I’m a little raw from sleep deprivation but have been listening to Jay chattering cheerfully about Lego and games, able to focus with the newly refreshed attention that comes easily after a few days’ break from mothering.

In the background, my excitement is mounting: my partner of six months, Volt, who is part of the festival take-down crew, is due to join me here in a few days to begin our new phase together.

His plan is to bring his summer travels in his live-in van to an end and base himself in the small town on the edge of the countryside where my nine-year-old son Jay and I have lived for nearly half a decade. Though he’d still have his van as a base, we’d be half living together.

My excitement is tinged with nerves. Our relationship, sparked in early summer, had been conducted largely at festivals and on road trips, sidestepping the…

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Morgana K Sylvana
Human Parts

Neurodivergent advocate and writer. Author of vanlife & nature connection memoir, ‘The Wild Wandering Arc' & 'Wild Motherhood'.