Work Travel

Do you like to travel? I love it...for vacations! I love to travel to new places to explore, to soak in new culture, new tastes, new landscapes. I love immersing in the newness of my surroundings for a few days in new places.

But how about traveling for work? I have been traveling for work for over ten years. If I had started it right, I probably would have been a Platinum member with Delta Airlines at my halfway mark. I'm not sure how I feel about that status though. My business requires me to travel to Atlanta, Las Vegas, New York & Philippines twice a year for work. It is necessary and it can be hard, I'm not going to dance around it.

I have to leave my family anywhere from 3-12 days at a time. How do I do it? How do I cope? Most importantly, how does my family cope? The first thing that comes to mind is that I have a wonderful husband to thank and I give him all the props in the world. He becomes a super Dad when I'm not around. It wasn’t a seamless year of learning, it’s many years. Many years of adjustments, some are easier than others and after ten and some years, we are still learning to make adjustments.

Also, some trips are easier, uneventful and some, not so. A not so uneventful time was when my then 3rd grader, Noah, broke his front left tibia at summer day camp. It happened during the extended camp time where you would have your kids extend their stay. The 3 pm pick up time is too early for a single parent who has a commute of almost an hour to camp from work.

Noah was riding a scooter when he fell and hit his leg on the curb. My husband, Andy was under twenty minutes away to pick him up. As a working AND traveling Mom, I can’t help but immediately think, “If I were home and not in New York working, I would have picked up Noah right at 3 pm & he wouldn't have continued playing, wouldn't have ridden the scooter, wouldn't have broken his leg!” I recall sadly thinking to myself that I wasn’t there to protect my son. I wasn't there to help my husband. These are the thoughts that went through my mind, these are the guilty feelings I have when I'm somewhere else aside from being home. Right, Moms? It’s not a fair thought, I know. You cannot control everything in your life.

But what I can control, I do. With the help of my husband, we look at schedules before I leave, we sync up calendars, we seek the help of our family, we communicate, we listen to each other, we learn from things that don't work, we improve them and we learn.

I don't need to tell you that nothing is perfect. They forget piano lessons, I come home to dried plants, they forget the sunblock that I staged to bring, they lose the dog for crying out loud! Eventually found after three days by the way by a neighbor. Not all will go according to plan and you have to know how to adjust. And that even though, you've planned all things planned, that it doesn’t always happen without a hitch.

I guess I digress, forgive me, blogging is new to me. Back to being a traveling mom. If I could do all the work from home, if I can acquire and meet new customers, if I can sell and generate orders and design my product collection from the comfort of my home, I would do it and so would other Mompreneurs, right?

There are many wonderful reasons and benefits to travel for work. To continue to grow my business, to be successful in what I do, to see our Retail customers face to face, to hear their stories, to meet new customers and share my excitement with them about our products and to show them how grateful I am to be a part of their stores, traveling is not only necessary, it becomes an amazing experience.

The summer edition of the gift markets are about to commence. I am on the plane on route to Atlanta and I may already have shed a tear or two because I’m already missing my family. Mompreneurs, when you do feel this way, when you get a wave of sadness and homesickness, let the tears fall, have a good cry. I let myself shed the tears, I say a prayer, I blow my nose & wipe my tears and I move on. These emotions will be there, go through it but don’t forget why you are away from your family to begin with. Don’t forget your purpose, don’t forget your why!

I’d like to end my first ever blog with a question if I may. What are your coping ways when you're traveling and away from your family?

#travelforwork #travel #blogger #mompreneur #entrepreneur #family #familybalance