How many of you know the song, "Traveling Man" by Ricky Nelson? It's one of my favorites. Well, this month, I'm the "Traveling Mom," (certainly without owning hearts in every port, mind you).
Funny how right out of college I took a job BECAUSE travel was involved. I love adventures, I love going new places, and I love the organization of a packed suitcase. Having been married almost 10 years and having kids for eight and a half of those ten, I still I love to travel. But it's certainly a lot more complicated now that I'm in the role of "Family Manager".
When I'm in the midst of motherhood (especially during harvest season) I would give my right arm for some alone time in a distant hotel room. But not long after I actually get to have that time away, I'm quickly reminded of what I'm missing back home, and why I can't wait to get back there. Sometimes it's the over-the-phone plea of my five year old, begging me to come home and spend some one-on-one time with her. Or it's my toddler in the background of the same call, making silly noises that make everyone on that end of the line laugh.
Hubby does a great job of holding down the fort. He makes sure kids are dressed and fed before school, that dinner happens each night, and will maybe even get the dishes in the dishwasher. I can't ask for much more than that. Some days, that's about all I can get done around the house after a full day of work too.
There have been a few times recently when I wished that my job had NO travel. This, I might add, is not a feasible situation for someone in the line of work I am in. And not only that, I would miss the experience of someone else cleaning my room each day and giving me fresh towels. (Do you see where my priorities lie here?)
So I guess the traveling for work has benefited me in many ways. It gives me a break for the normal, daily chaos that is my life, and then reminds me how much I love that chaos and would want nothing else. If only it could be spread out over a few more months of the year. And that pile of laundry at the end of the trip would magically wash and fold itself.
