Monday, April 25, 2022

First Work Trip in Ages

I had my first work trip in ages this past weekend. I'm trying to remember when I last traveled for work for a client visit and I can't remember... I think it was before I had Paul! Before I had kids, I had asked my manager if I could limit/avoid travel for work when I became a parent and that manager was on board with that. I have a different manager now, but he also respects that I prefer to not travel for work. I know many moms do this either because they have to or they enjoy it! I just don't so I am glad I can usually avoid it. But in this case, I absolutely could not avoid this trip. We just took over the management of a pool of assets for a university foundation and were told up front that we needed to attend the board meeting twice a year and that they valued having a diverse team working on their account (i.e. not a bunch of guys). So I got put on the account and knew I'd need to travel for these board meetings. 

Overall, it went well. I wish I had gotten my Evusheld injections (prophylactic antibody injection that I qualified for since I'm immune-compromised) further ahead of the trip but hopefully they provided some level of extra protection? I was told I'd be fully protected in 14 days, and I got my shots on Tuesday of this past week. I wore a mask in the airport and on the flight and was definitely in the minority. Interestingly, when Phil went grocery shopping on Sunday, he said about 2/3 of people were wearing masks. Anecdotally, I've heard about more people getting covid lately so it feels like we may be in the build-up to another wave? Le sigh. 

The presentation itself went well, though. We took over the portfolio at the start of a tough market. But they seemed to understand that there is no magic investment that will perform well when everything is down (stocks and bonds have both had rough starts to the year). 

Both of my flights were delayed - it seems like on-time flights are an anomaly these days! But the delays weren't too terrible. I got home around 7pm on Saturday. Phil kept Will up so I could do bedtime, and I did Paul's bedtime as well. It was good to get some time with both boys after not seeing them for almost 2 days. On Sunday morning I was getting ready to take Will to swimming lessons. When I put my shoes on, Will started to cry and kind of flopped forward dramatically onto the floor - it seemed like he thought I was leaving again and was upset, so even though he's not quite 18 months, he seemed to notice I was not around! But I think having to travel over a weekend is harder on everyone since that is normally when I get the most quality time with the boys. Being gone on week nights is less of a big deal. I'm glad I'll only have to do this weekend meeting once a year - the other meeting is on a Friday - and there is talk of us taking turns attending these meetings. 

I got lots of time with the boys on Sunday, though. As I mentioned above, I took Will to swimming lessons on Sunday morning. His instructor said he can register for the next level for the summer session since he's done so well. Phil headed to his mom's around lunchtime to help with some things so I got my chance to do some solo parenting. Luckily Will took a nice long 2.5 hour nap. Paul played on his iPad in his room during quiet time and I napped, too! After naptime, we went on a little adventure. I had gotten a voucher to go to the Crayola Experience at the Mall of America to pick out 32 crayons. Crayons are pretty cheap so it wasn't worth a lot monetarily, but Paul is so into coloring and crayons so I knew he'd enjoy filling a box of crayons. 



It's a bit of a hassle to get to the mall but it was worth the effort. This was Paul's first time in a mall - he thought it was very cool. It's one of the biggest malls in the US and has a big Nickelodeon-themed amusement park in the middle so it's not your typical mall. He's on the young side for the amusement park but I told him we'd come back some day when he's older. 

Will was a great little side kick and was happy to hang in the stroller and take everything in!

As soon as we got home, Paul broke out the crayons and got to work coloring. I'm so glad he's interested in coloring! It's nice to have an activity that will entertain him for a solid block of time! 

Phil got home shortly after we did. I made soup in the instant pot with the bone from our Easter ham. It's another cold week here so it's sadly still soup season - we eat soup year-round but it tastes especially good on a cold day!

Will continued to be a little more cuddly than usual but I soaked up his snuggly mood. 

How was your weekend? Is it nice where you are or still unseasonably cold? I ran this morning - it was about 32F with a mist, but felt like 22F with the wind. Where are you spring?

12 comments:

  1. I'm glad you're home and I'm sure there is relief (and also pride!) to have successfully completed a work trip. With a toddler at home. In a pandemic era. Gold stars.
    Sounds like a busy weekend, and I'm sure the boys were so happy to have you home!

    It's still cold here; mostly because it has been so darn windy and then a lot of overcast days. That said, I just got back from a long walk with John and the sun came out and I had to take off my coat, gloves, and headband.

    Our weekend was great. Saturday was just this perfect day for me; lots of time to putter, but it also felt productive. I need some word to classify these days. Everything was open-ended (which can go BADLY), but in the end there was just a perfect, and unplanned, amount of margin. We did some chores. We ate good food. I fit in a trip to the library and a spontaneous walk with a friend. It feels boring, but it really is soul food for me?!

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  2. I remember reading about the Mall of America in a Baby-Sitter's Club book when I was a kid, and wanted to visit it so bad! Haha. I'm still astonished about an amusement park! In a mall!

    That's such a fun idea to fill up a Crayola crayon box. What a cool experience for Paul!

    And hooray for surviving your work trip! It must feel so good to have that behind you.

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  3. I need to find a go-to ham bone soup recipe. I'm glad the trip went fairly well, and yeah missing the weekend would be an extra bummer. I'm flying out Sunday afternoon for a meeting and I'm annoyed that work gets my Sunday evening relaxation time and I don't even have kiddos to miss. Does the crayon store let you pick out coloring markers as well? Because my brother would love that! He's not a huge crayon fan.

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  4. Oh, I'm so happy to hear your travel went well. I am finding this in between time, is it endemic or are we in the middle of a surge? time to be particularly stressful and don't envy people who are spending time in airports.

    When I lived in Mpls, I lived right on a light rail stop (38th St. station - woot! woot!) and I used to go to the MOA a couple of times a month. In February 2020, my husband and I met his brother's family at the MOA and it was our last "big" trip together before COVID. I sometimes marvel at how carefree I was (around other people! crowds! touching everything!) and wonder if I'll ever get back to that.

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  5. I just listened to a podcast about the Mall of America! I have never been there but I once was at the Minneapolis airport and there was a big shuttle to go there.

    Glad your trip went well!

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  6. I'm glad the trip went well -- I know that's stressful (especially the Covid-related issues that go along with travel.) I'm glad you got back home in time to be able to still have a lovely weekend with the boys! It looks like fun!

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  7. The only time I have ever traveled for work has been for training or continuing education. I think the last time I had to fly anywhere was October of 2017 or 2018 maybe. Or maybe it had been the following spring, haha. I can't even remember! But I did have fun exploring and traveling by myself. On one of the trips, I found this precious little bookstore where I bought one of my favorite books ever -- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. And on another trip I ate at this adorable local eatery, Real & Rosemary, that had the most amazing wine selection. I sat and talked to the sommelier while I waited on my food one night, and had the loveliest time chatting and tasting their wines. It made me wish I had a job where I had to travel more, simply because I enjoyed getting discover new-to-me places. Sometimes I think I'd really enjoy being a travel blogger if I weren't such an introverted homebody, haha. Anyway, I had a very eventful long weekend so I'm in hermit mode right now. The weather has been all over the place lately, as it normally is for us in South Carolina this time of year. It's hot then cold and raining all the time. I'll be so happy when the warm weather stabilizes.

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  8. Also glad the trip went well!! I also would not enjoy traveling often for work, especially with little ones at home. Maybe now and and then could be fun, but that's about it.

    The little MOA trip looks fun! I did a mini-spring break trip years ago now when the boys were little up there with my parents. I think Ivan was working and stayed home. We had fun! We did the amusement park and the aquarium and Rainforest Cafe. Our hotel was right across the street and had some slides/ fun pool area I think. I have always thought perhaps we'll go back sometime because it was a really nice little getaway!

    The crayone store totally looks fun! I bet Pablo enjoyed that. Your ham soup sounds good! I've never made ham soup, but I think I would enjoy that more than I actually like just regular ham. I actually just bought a ham without a bone, since it was just the 4 of us...Honestly, I'd never made a ham before, so I was just looking for whatever seemed easiest!! haha! maybe you can give me some tips. Although, I think we've all decided we are not doing ham next year. We are all pretty take or leave it on ham around here. So, what's the point?! :)

    And of course, still unseasonably cold here too. The forecast looks pretty dismal too...at least out of the 40s, but come on!!! This is so annoying. Ethan is hating soccer practices because they've all been freezing and windy.

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  9. Love you!! These photos are adorable

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    1. This is your neighbor 🤗💕

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  10. I am glad the trip went well and that your office is able to mostly accommodate your wish to not travel as a mom of two young kids. It must be hard to be away from them even for a couple of days.

    We eat soup year-round too but yes, it's especially good on a cold day (which in our case is not even freezing temperatures ;)).

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  11. So glad the trip went well! And that you had your Sunday with the boys. Whew.
    I was wondering how staying in a hotel was actually - was that odd, or okay?

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