Dear Husband: I’ll be gone on a work trip for the next 8 days

Traveling for work can be fun but also difficult when you have a young family. I travel a lot for work and can honestly say it’s only getting harder – not easier. I don’t want to leave my kids (2 and 4), I don’t want to leave my husband, and I don’t want to leave my routine. But I have to.

The two-day trips aren’t bad. I can handle those. It’s the 8 day trips like the one I’m on right now that make it hard to be a mom. Thankfully, my husband is home with the kids but there are times he needs a sitter and I plan for those nights but then the person cancels and I have to find someone else while sitting in meetings all day, trying to multi-task my work with keeping up with other things in my life. The struggle is real.

Beyond just mom stuff, it’s hard to maintain healthy choices on the road..like impossible but this trip I’m trying really hard. Drinking water, making good food choices and getting in that workout!

This trip was really hard to leave. I just didn’t want to. I cuddled with my babies much longer than I normally do and I cried. I haven’t cried in a long time before leaving on a work trip. But this is a long trip and I missed them even before I left.

But to get through, I just keep thinking about my why. It’s my kids. I want to have a life filled with memories, laughter and fun. I want them to see what a successful working mom looks like and contributes to society. I want them to know they can be anything they want.

One day, hopefully soon, I’ll be my own mom boss and won’t have to worry about these long trips. But until then, I’ll be on this work trip.