Traveling for work

Today is another one of the days I dread most: Today I leave for a business trip. This particular trip is a doozie, too. I'll be two time zones away for 6 days. My stomach is already clenching at the thought of Padraic crying as I get out of the car at the airport. There's no way around it, though. I have to go, and saying goodbye is just part of the deal.

After my maternity leave with Henry I had to travel to the opposite coast for a conference. Henry was 4mos old, and leaving him killed me. And Padraic was 2.5yrs old so he was now aware of what was happening, and I was afraid of saying goodbye. Stupid Mommy, I thought sneaking out of the house when the airport shuttle arrived would save Padraic and me from a wailing session. Well, it did, but it produced something worse. My husband reported daily for the four days I was gone that Padraic kept asking if I was upstairs when they were downstairs, and vice versa. Crap. My beautiful son thought I was home but just didn't want to spend any time with him.

A month later I had to travel again, and this time I did the right thing, even though it wasn't easy. I endured Padraic's tears while saying goodbye and explaining that Mommy was going to work on a big airplane and would call him every day. Half and hour after I left the house, I called Ken to see how things were going. Padraic was fine, but I still had to get through my trip with the image of his heartbreak raging through my head. To top it off, baby Henry ended up at the ER with a case of pneumonia. Can we say "Mommy guilt"?! I was going to hop the next plane home, but Ken assured me it was mild and under control, though the hospital only let him take Henry home, rather than admitting him, because Ken proved he was very familiar with dealing with respiratory issues. Padraic had been treated for possible asthma for a year-and-a-half at that point.

I've done other trips since those first two, and it's always hard to say goodbye and then spend days away from my family. What's awesome is coming home. So when we say goodbye at the airport today, my internal clock will immediately start ticking down the seconds, minutes, hours, days until we're reunited. What will make this trip a scooch easier, too, is knowing that while I'm gone my parents are coming into town to spoil the boys rotten and give Ken a much-appreciated helping hand.

OK, let's get this over with.