A Promise to Show My Son the World
Sally, Drew and Lee at the Great Wall of China.
May 8, 2012
by Sally Bookman
Our kids were grown, but 13 years ago my husband and I decided to expand our family. Through an open adoption, Drew entered our lives, blond, blue-eyed and beautiful, at just seven weeks. I was in my mid 50s at the time and my husband, Lee, was 60. We were older than most, but Drew’s birth mother liked how we wrote about traveling with our other children and sending all three off to college in our application.
She wanted a better life for him that would include a chance to see the world and an emphasis on education. Being older, we felt we could not be the energetic parents we were with our others, but we could travel the world with him, especially through cruising.
We’ve kept that promise. Since the age of 2, Drew has traveled on Princess seven times, to Alaska, the Panama Canal and around the Caribbean, enjoying the Kids Zone and the ports of call. Just how important travel would be to Drew wasn’t clear until we came home from a 16-day cruise from Beijing to Singapore aboard Diamond Princess.
Drew’s longest cruise yet, we weren’t sure how his teachers would feel about taking him out of school for two weeks. He has learning issues; school has not been easy for him. Extremely bright and very social, he suffers from anxiety issues which make it difficult for him to take tests and focus on assignments. Every day is a struggle.
Drew’s teachers reassured us that travel was also a learning opportunity and that such a trip could build confidence in him. I bought Drew a camera for the cruise, so he could literally focus on what interested him most. We also had him write a daily journal.
Some days were easier than others. Drew did not like seeing eel get their heads chopped off in South Korea, but the plus side was that he saw in Pusan one of the world’s largest fish markets. He loved the jade museum in Beijing and took dozens of close-ups with his camera, and was equally fascinated by the street signs of the city. Drew is fascinated by the details.
The friendships Drew makes on cruises are another thing he treasures. On this trip, he met Samantha, a 13-year-old from South Carolina. The two hit it off like you wouldn’t believe. Drew taught her how to play shuffleboard and they ran around the ship together. She is a more serious student and I think some of that rubbed off on him.
Coming home brought the big surprises of the trip. His teachers report that he seems like a new person, bouncing with enthusiasm and confidence. I am getting daily reports that his grades are often the top in the class, and that is definitely new. We think that he feels more confident about handling studies because of what he has seen and done.
Around the house, Drew takes out the trash without complaining. Before, whenever we asked him to do something, it would start a big argument. We all came back refreshed, but Drew seems to walk taller. I think he grew up a bit.
On the social side, he and Samantha are keeping in touch through Skype and her family has invited him to visit over the summer.
Travel has helped define all of our children…our older ones have grown up to find work and recreation across many borders. It’s too early to say what Drew will grow up to be, but whatever he pursues, I suspect that travel will play some part in it.
My husband and I will continue to keep our pledge to his birth mother to show him the world. In fact, amazed and delighted as we are by our family trip to Asia, we are already looking into the next adventure with Drew—a Princess cruise to Russia.
Sally lives in Santa Cruz, California. She’s enjoyed seven Princess cruises with Lee and Drew.
21 Comments Post a Comment
Continuing the Discussion
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says... May 18, 2012 | 10:39am
[...] To Keep a Promise [...]
Sally, your promise to show Drew the world is inspiring. Exposing Drew to different cultures and places most certainly will impact his life for the better. Many thanks for sharing your story with us.
Wow..thats awesome!! Hats off to these folks!
Awesome story. What an amazing couple to take this wonderful little boy into their lives. Happy cruising!
Thanks for sharing this story! Your enthusiasm and depth will inspire others. I love the fresh approach to important issues that impact many parents raising children with unique requirements. Taking the time out of your busy life to compose this shows your generosity and spirit. Thank you!
No better way to see the world! Drew is one lucky kid!
One Lucky boy and That is very very great of you to take someone
in at this time of your life. I would love to do that. I totally admire you
both!!!
What a beautiful story. Thank’s for sharing with the world.
Thank you for helping a young boy find himself. This is certainly what I got from the meeting he had with the young girl. Time will tell us if there is a bigger story here.
I would like to offer a suggestion for Drew. Hopefully he can get a copy of a very excellent book that may help him even more. The title is “The Magic of Thinking Big”. It sounds like he is ready for it and if he does read it look out, I have found it to be exceptional. Good luck Drew may you get what you want out of life!
Thank you for your story. I am 52 years old and in the process of adopting an 8 year old boy. We look forward to traveling with our new son. Your story is filled with opportunities and encouragement.
What an amazing story. It’s good to know that there are wonderful people in this World. Keep up your good deed. Best of luck to Drew. This is an amazing experience and he will surely cherish it.
Sally,I met you about 27 years ago at the school bus stop in Seascape where we put our kindergartners on the bus every morning. I have taken my son, Scott, on about 7 to 10 Princess cruises over the years too. He is grown-up now, of course, but we are taking a family Christmas cruise together this year. What wonderful memories we have and continue to have! It was wonderful reading about Drew. The best of everything to you and your family!
Sally–what a wonderful story. We, too, adopted a son. Zach was ten at the time, and came from a rough background. Showing him the world and getting him excited about new things was a priority for us as well. He’s now 25, and looking forward to a friend is coming to visit him in a couple of weeks. This friend is a young lady he met 10 years ago, on a cruise. We all know about “cruiseship romances” but I just never expected them to start so young! Who knows what Drew and Samantha’s relationship will be in 10 years? Wishing you continued happiness and pride in watching Drew grow and develop, Carla
I am a 50 year old male, I wonder if they want to adopt any more kids, just kidding!
I’m so glad you’ve had such a wonderful experience cruising with your son! We’re getting ready for our third cruise with our son (now 5), and I have treasured every day of our cruises. We can only manage a trip every couple of years, but even so, our son has already travelled to more destinations than many other children his age. I’m so incredibly thankful that we’re able to introduce our son to so many experiences that he’d only gain through travelling! Thank you for sharing your story, and I hope you can enjoy many more stories together.
It is great that your son has been adopted into a wonderful family who love to cruise.
Princess Cruises are sure the way to see the world.I hope you and your son enjoy many more cruises together.
It’s great that your son has been adopted into a wonderful family who love to cruise.
Princess Cruises are sure the way to see the world as a past Princess Cruiser I speak from experience.
I hope you and your son enjoy many more cruises together.
What a great experience, we did that trip a few years ago and had a young English lad, his mum & grandma on many of our day tours. He learnt so much over the sixteen days. What you can see and learn while traveling cannot be understood in a classroom
What a great story – learning and development can come from many places in many ways. At 59 I have had 16 cruises and by no means finished yet. I am always amazed at the end of a cruise what attracted me and appealed to me the most in contrast to what I thought would. Keep up the good work – that “young fella” Drew – is in great hands
Cheers
Miickey
Sally, Lee & Drew: What a wonderful story you share. There are many ways we learn about our self, the world we live in and how we each become productive caring people.. I have no doubt that Drew will shine and do wonderful things with the life lessons he has learned while traveling with such loving parents. All children should be so blessed.
Warm Regards:
Barbara
I wish more teachers believed that travel, even if it means the student will miss school days, is educational!