So I have been studying Japanese to be an English teacher in Japan, which has always been an aspiration of mine. My husband and I recently budgeted that we can take a vacation this spring, and my husband recommended that we visit Japan.

This would allow me to experience the country that we are wanting to move to, and really get a good feel for it. We would go for 10 days in April.

However, I keep feeling a little bit of guilt in leaving our 16-month-old behind while we go to Japan. We have grandparents that have offered to watch her while we’re gone. I know that they will make sure that she has a great time, but I can’t help but feel that I’m like a bad mom for going abroad and not taking her.

We have good reasons for not taking her, especially since it would be our first time in Japan, and we don’t know our way around the country. But we are also planning on going to Tokyo Disneyland for a couple days.

Am I a bad parent for wanting to go on this trip? Should we do something else for vacation? Someone please help. 😭