A mom who left her daughter behind at the airport and went on a luxurious trip without her after she forgot to bring her passport has been applauded online.
Cheryl Maguire was supposed to jet off to Turks & Caicos with her 21-year-old daughter, Lindsay, recently for a special mother-daughter trip.
However, Maguire was ultimately forced to embark on a solo vacation after her daughter made a very unfortunate mistake: she left her passport at home.
In a recent essay for Business Insider, Maguire explained that the holiday was going to be extra special for her and Lindsay since they were planning to ‘recreate photos’ from when she took Lindsay there as a kid.
‘The flight was booked, her bags were packed and then [Lindsay] realized she had left her passport in her New York City apartment,’ she recalled.
‘We were flying out of Boston and tried to figure out a way to get it in time, but it just wasn’t possible. I decided to leave her behind and go solo.’
Maguire explained that ‘changing the trip plans wasn’t an option’ because it was tied to the grand re-opening of a hotel on the island.
‘If it hadn’t been tied to an event, I probably would’ve rescheduled,’ she continued.
A mom who left her daughter behind at the airport and went on a luxurious trip without her after she forgot to bring her passport has been applauded online (stock image)
‘I felt bad about going without her, especially since she was so excited to see all the changes to the resort she had been going to since she was only a year old.
‘But I was also excited for the trip down memory lane, even if that meant going without her.’
Maguire noted that her daughter had a history of ‘forgetting stuff,’ and recalled having to often bring her Chromebook or tennis gear to her when she was in high school.
She added that she had given her ‘one reminder’ to bring her passport, but wondered if she should have given her more.
Maguire said she ‘tried to make the most of her time there’ and while she ‘missed having Lindsay on the trip with her,’ being solo pushed her to do things she might have never done had her daughter been with her.
‘I spent time with other solo travelers who I probably wouldn’t have talked to if my kid had been there,’ she shared.
‘I also did things like go on a catamaran that she hadn’t seemed interested in before the trip.’
And while she felt guilty at first – especially after Facetiming her daughter to show off the hotel room and seeing her ‘disappointment’ – she said those feelings quickly flooded away.
Cheryl Maguire was supposed to jet off to Turks & Caicos with her 21-year-old daughter, Lindsay, recently for a special mother-daughter trip but ended up going solo (stock image)
‘When I got home, my daughter was still really upset about forgetting her passport. I tried to focus on ways to prevent this from happening again,’ she added.
‘After I shared [some] tips, I told her, “Look on the bright side, you’re only 21, and I can guarantee you’ll never forget your passport again.”
‘Now, she’s ready to plan the next trip, and hopefully this time she remembers to bring her passport – and her mother.’
A screenshot of Maguire’s essay was shared on X, formerly Twitter, where it went viral.
‘They’re calling it the most boomer story of all time,’ the post read.
It led to a massive debate about whether or not she was wrong for leaving her daughter behind, but most people appeared to take Maguire’s side.
‘Father of six here, I would leave any of them behind for doing something so irresponsible. I wiped their noses for 18+ years; why should my plans be ruined because an adult screwed up?’ one user replied.
‘Would you blow off a hugely expensive trip because your daughter is an idiot? It’s Turks and Caicos. It’s not like they’ve got daily commuter flights,’ chimed in another.
‘Why would I expect my mom to lose a bunch of money for my screw up?’ asked someone else.
Maguire explained that ‘changing the trip plans wasn’t an option’ because it was tied to the grand re-opening of a hotel on the island (stock image)
‘Isn’t the whole point of the trip to spend time together?’ a different person fired back. ‘She learned when you screw up your family ditches you to prioritize pleasure.’
‘When an adult doesn’t know you need a passport when going to a foreign country, the parents failed,’ read a fifth post.
A sixth said: ‘What’s she supposed to do? Stay home in solidarity with her daughter’s stupidity? Go on the trip.’
‘[Her daughter] makes a poor decision and then expects others to suffer because she f**ked up?’ questioned someone else.
‘Why would you not want your mother to go on holiday just because you forgot your passport? What deranged individuals would want that,’ wondered another.
