Passing in the Night

My wife and I married in August of 1991 then headed off to Princeton, NJ after our honeymoon. She worked in Bristol, PA while I took the train each day to New York, a ninety-minute commute each way door-to-door (an hour on the train with fifteen minutes of commuting on each end). From 1992 through probably 2006, I traveled anywhere 60-80% of the time. Probably a fifth of that travel was international, taking me throughout Europe and Asia Pacific mostly. For the last eighteen months or so, my travel has cut back significantly, down to the occasional trip every other month or three. It's been great for both of us as I'm able to be here for her and for the boys.

I'm home for a little more than twenty hours today before heading back to the airport, where I'll be hopping around while she hops around here with the boys. It isn't something I'm particularly looking forward to, this tactical change in the lives of the five of us. My wife bears the full burden of parenting, financial management, and household manger. Each boy then tests her and works to mold her into an accommodating supervisor, finding and exploiting soft spots in her psyche and in her vision. It's hardly fair.

On the plus side, I need this. I need to work hard, to feel valued, to tackle something difficult. The thing I forget often lately is that I have a have alot of talent. I'm good at what I'm good at; in fact, I'm excellent. I am insightful, have a tremendous amount of knowledge and expertise in my specialties, and they are in great need. I'm excited about being out on the road with the customers of my client, and I think this will be tremendous.

None of that makes it easy to leave. I'm still working on other things while I'm doing this, which makes it an additional challenge to be sure. We're working on another ad campaign and some other projects for another client, and I've struggled in seamlessly pulling that off. I guess that's why they call of this work.

Need to crank for the next two hours, finishing up work stuff, packing, kissing everyone, then rushing to the airport. Big win as I was able to change my seat from a middle seat on the long connecting flight through Phoenix to an exit row window. I guess there are a few people flying to Phoenix today for some strange reason...