Trips

I have always thought that these trips for work serve two primary purposes:
1. to remind me of why I work
2. to remind me of why I parent

I hate to leave my family. I hate to be physically apart from them.
But I leave and I spend a day doing what I do in some different city and
I am reminded of how good it feels to be good at something.

Then I come home. And those girls and that man with their smiling faces and 
open arms make me overjoyed at the opportunity to parent and partner again.

Lately I have realized that there is the third reason to travel as I do 
for my job-
the chance to connect with people.

I once heard an interview with Chris Christie (I'll be honest it was one 
of those Oprah life class interviews, please don't think less of me). 
In the interview Oprah asked the New Jersey governor why he did what he did. 
He didn't give the typical political answer of "I have a servants heart.
I do it for the country". No he said something akin to
"I thrive off of meeting people. It's like a high.
I get a jolt connecting with people".

That's how I feel about these work trips. It's a jolt of energy. 
You spend the days I do on these trips walking the halls and 
attending meetings and you feel alive. You feel connected to others. 

So I leave my beautiful little family and in exchange I get to meet people. 
For one millisecond I get to participate in their lives and 
exchange stories.

What a wonderful gift I have been given.