I have a friend who travels quite a bit. She’s married, with two kids. I called her once just as she was getting ready to head out on one of her three-day boondoggles. “Bummer,” I said. “You’re leaving on another trek?” She couldn’t agree less. She was thrilled. “Are you kidding? I need a couple of days away.”
So, as I pack (yet again) to leave for (yet another) airport and get ready to fly on (yet another) horribly cramped plane, I can’t help but think about how important it is to get away for a couple of days every now and again. Even if you stay in the unbelievably awful hotel that my business partner and I called “home” for the last three days.
While business trips aren’t exactly filled with fun and frolic (especially trips as important as this one), there is enough downtime (and sometimes, bar time) to recharge some of the batteries. And, it’s always important, I think, to give everyone – kids, spouse, friends, and family – a break.
The late, great coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Bill Walsh, once said that 10 years is the most time that any coach should stay with one team. His feeling was that after 10 years, people just get sick of seeing each other every day. While I don’t think it’s as dramatic as being sick of seeing each other – the “business trip theory” is the same.
As I’ve written previously, parenting can be a living “Groundhog Day” (the movie). As our kids grow, we fall into these (very important) schedules. But, they are more or less the same thing day in and day out. We experience the same day over and over. Sure, there are quite a few nuances that separate one day from the next, but the nuts and bolts of the days are more or less the same. This isn’t to say that it’s boring, by any stretch, but it does require an effort to “mix it up” from time to time.
Trips like this one allow everyone to mix it up. Although I do feel badly for G, as she bears the bulk of the burden when I leave. Suddenly, there’s no help in the mornings when K-Man wakes up. The flip side of that, however, is that she gets to spend more time with him one-on-one, and that’s usually a good thing. Those are some of the best times to create those special moments and memories.
I also think that it’s important to “miss” everyone. We get complacent. We take the people in our lives for granted. In the midst of living Groundhog Day, we start to expect things to happen, as if on cue. When this happens, we even stop noticing some of those aforementioned nuances. We stop picking up on the funny things our kids say or do. In short, we completely forget to stop and smell the roses, because we’re on some kind of autopilot.
As I pack to head home, I just keep thinking about seeing G and K-Man again. I keep thinking about how amazing it is to see a two-and-a-half-year-old running to the front door at full speed with a wide smile and screaming, “Daddddddddyyyyyyyyy!!!!” in that most perfectly cute pitch. There’s perhaps nothing better than that in the whole world. Sure, he’s happy to see me after he’s been at school for a day, but it’s nothing like this.
So, as I pack (yet again) to leave for (yet another) airport and get ready to fly on (yet another) horribly cramped plane, I can’t help but think about how important it is to get away for a couple of days every now and again. Even if you stay in the unbelievably awful hotel that my business partner and I called “home” for the last three days.
While business trips aren’t exactly filled with fun and frolic (especially trips as important as this one), there is enough downtime (and sometimes, bar time) to recharge some of the batteries. And, it’s always important, I think, to give everyone – kids, spouse, friends, and family – a break.
The late, great coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Bill Walsh, once said that 10 years is the most time that any coach should stay with one team. His feeling was that after 10 years, people just get sick of seeing each other every day. While I don’t think it’s as dramatic as being sick of seeing each other – the “business trip theory” is the same.
As I’ve written previously, parenting can be a living “Groundhog Day” (the movie). As our kids grow, we fall into these (very important) schedules. But, they are more or less the same thing day in and day out. We experience the same day over and over. Sure, there are quite a few nuances that separate one day from the next, but the nuts and bolts of the days are more or less the same. This isn’t to say that it’s boring, by any stretch, but it does require an effort to “mix it up” from time to time.
Trips like this one allow everyone to mix it up. Although I do feel badly for G, as she bears the bulk of the burden when I leave. Suddenly, there’s no help in the mornings when K-Man wakes up. The flip side of that, however, is that she gets to spend more time with him one-on-one, and that’s usually a good thing. Those are some of the best times to create those special moments and memories.
I also think that it’s important to “miss” everyone. We get complacent. We take the people in our lives for granted. In the midst of living Groundhog Day, we start to expect things to happen, as if on cue. When this happens, we even stop noticing some of those aforementioned nuances. We stop picking up on the funny things our kids say or do. In short, we completely forget to stop and smell the roses, because we’re on some kind of autopilot.
As I pack to head home, I just keep thinking about seeing G and K-Man again. I keep thinking about how amazing it is to see a two-and-a-half-year-old running to the front door at full speed with a wide smile and screaming, “Daddddddddyyyyyyyyy!!!!” in that most perfectly cute pitch. There’s perhaps nothing better than that in the whole world. Sure, he’s happy to see me after he’s been at school for a day, but it’s nothing like this.
So, even though I have a long (cramped) day ahead of me – I’m thankful for this time away. And, even though I’ll probably bitch and moan about my next trip away (in four or five weeks), I know that it’s a good thing. For everyone. Time apart is important, as it reminds us how wonderful it is to go home.
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