As I am finishing the last few things needed for my trip to Las Vegas, for business, other things keep popping up that do not relate to the trip. Questions from employees, family issues and of course the request for me to grab certain things while there. Due to the way my business works and the systems I have in place all will be fine there, I can manage a melt down from anywhere in the world in that regards.
Family is another story. Kids, spouse and parents that are dependent on me will have a void that cannot be filled in my absence. I don’t feel like they will have any real problems but they all seem like this is a life changing event for them. In the past I have done very little travel with work, usually only 1 or 2 times per year except when I was managing disaster recovery projects after Hurricane Katrina. Now that we are a mid size player in helping car dealers with online marketing I am traveling more frequently and see even more excursions in the future.
Everyone will learn to cope, personally I don’t care for a lot of travel and being away from my family and business, but it will be required for us to grow our business to the next level. My wife is completely understanding and remembers the year I spent in the Gulf away from the family like it was yesterday. The kids are a different story.
They have unfounded fears that daddy will be going away like he did a few years ago, managing a contract with FEMA. No mount of reassurance can convince the smaller ones. My seven year old thinks it is cool that daddy is going away on business because he remembers very vividly each and every prize that daddy brought home on his returns, so he is glad I am traveling. My four year old on the other hand has attempted to unpack my suitcase a couple of times already. He tells me that if I stay home I can just not go to the office and spend next week with him. My eleven year old is just pissed that he can’t go to Vegas with daddy and the adult children pretty much hold the same view.
The past few weeks has been fairly eventful for our family, the birth of a new granddaughter on September 21st and the discovery that our seven year old has Asperger’s Syndrome. The realization that Alex is an Aspie has placed some strains on our family with us trying to develop new routines at home and with him at school. These are positive it’s just a change for us. The new balance we are trying to create will be disrupted in my absence, Alex could care less, but I have been the liaison with the school and doctors and helping develop the new routines at home with the other family members.
I just home that this trip proves to be rewarding for our business, after all it is disrupting a lot of lives which are all dependent on the success of the business. On my return I am bringing in a new employee, my daughter, another journey will start there as well..
