I am getting ready to take an international business trip that will have me away from home for a full ten days. I know that it may be hard to believe, but in the nearly 18 years I’ve been a parent, I have never been away from all my kids for that many days! Sure, they’ve gone off to summer camp or to stay with their dad for a week at a time, but we generally see and talk to each other every couple days even when they are off on other adventures. As for me, I’ve only gone away for 2 or 3-day long weekends without them. While they seem to be shrugging their teenage shoulders and saying, “Yeah, Mom’s going a way”—I am not sure how I’m going to manage being completely “kid-less” for ten whole days…
I have made very conscious career choices as a single parent that have kept me close to home and able to attend school functions, cook dinner, and stay in touch with my kids on a daily basis. Now that they are all older high schoolers, I finally said yes to a work obligation that will mean a little bit of travel. I didn’t make the decision lightly, however, and called a family meeting to talk it over with my kids first. They were all for it. As they said, “You’d be dumb NOT to do this, Mom.” So, they are old enough to be away from mom for a week or so—but is mom capable of being away from kids and home for over a week?!
I’m making lists, talking to everyone I know who will be looking after my kids while I’m gone, I’m trying to get prepared—but my kids are quite sick of hearing me say out loud that I’ve never been away that long and what will we do?! As one of my daughters told me last night, “Mom, you’ve got to get a grip. People do this all the time.” And then, she mischievously added, “Let’s just hope nothing happens to the plane…”
See Also: Vacation Time
Conflicted About Business Travel?
Living With Frequent Business Travel