Travelling Mom (plus two)

Travelling through 200 miles of wilderness during a recent business trip gave me time to reflect on my situation as a travelling mom. 

I travel heavily for work, sometimes being in 2 countries in one week and then travelling again the following week to another part of the globe.  Many families have been affected by this type of work situation.  But I am glad that my work has never affected my home life. In fact, it has brought my family even closer.

I am lucky that I have a very supportive husband who, working in the hospital, also does not have a fixed predictable schedule.  Because of this, we were able to turn our situation to our advantage.  Instead of feeling sorry for ourselves that we are spending a lot of time apart, we made it work for us.

I have to admit though, it has not been easy.  We both try to adjust to each other's schedules and plan for every last minute changes. When I am required to be in a country for only a few hours of work, I choose the earliest flight out and take the last flight back, just so I can be beside my hubby and baby at night. When work requires me to be away for a longer period, my husband then adjusts his schedule so they can join me on my trip. Of course it is not as easy as it sounds, and this set-up has not been very kind to our pockets. But one thing is clear, the husband and I have always made our family our first priority.

It takes a lot of work to keep a family together.  We need to identify our priorities and make sure we stick to it.  We need to ensure that we have work-life balance.  We need to give 100% at work and do the same for the family.

Instead of being away from them on my business trips, they instead, join me! They have their father-daughter bonding sessions while I am at work, and then we all go to explore the place after I finish work. 

We have never travelled as much as we are doing now.  And I must admit, it has been a very expensive solution for our situation. Some people may not even agree with what we are doing. But, for all the memories we are creating, for all the learning and discovery that baby J has been having, and for the love and attention that we are giving our baby, I think it is totally worth it.