The Hardest Trip to the Airport Yet

This post is not meant to be a pity party. I actively sought out this trip. In fact, I applied four or five times before getting accepted into the program – now granted, when I first applied I was unmarried and had no children. As I mentioned before in this post, I’ll be in Qingdao for a special assignment with the IBM Corporate Service Corps – essentially IBM sponsored pro-bono consulting in developing markets. And don’t get me wrong, I’m incredibly excited about the experience I’ll gain being there immersed in this project.

Being gone this long also means that there are so many other things that need to be factored into planning for the trip. Are all the bills lined up to be paid? Do you have chargers for things that normally last a week (or two even) like for my toothbrush and razor? What projects can I do in advance around the house to make things easier on Korey? Obviously I can do laundry there, but you still need to bring enough so you aren’t wearing the same shirt every Monday. I’m sure there will be things I forget, but hopefully I have the important things.

That all being said, this was certainly the hardest trip to the airport I’ve ever had to make. I’ve traveled quite a bit in the past – pushing nearly 2 million miles on American Airlines, but this trip will be almost twice as long as any other trip I’ve been on before. Crosby wanted to bring his suitcase and was asking when he could go on the three airplanes with me. On the drive there, he said, “I’ll miss you, Daddy.” God knows I’ll certainly miss him too.

Carlyn is too young to understand anything about duration, but I’d like to think she’ll miss me too. Over the last month or two, she’s definitely become much more of an Daddy’s girl. Don’t be mistaken, Mommy still comes first, but I definitely get more love and attention that I did three months ago.

Knowing how fast they both are changing and growing definitely makes it even harder. If there is a positive side of things, remote communication has never been better, so I’m sure (or I hope) that I’ll still get to see and talk to them when I can.

And last, but certainly not least, is Korey. I’ve never been away from her this long either. Thankfully, she is off for the summer which makes things a bit easier, and she will have the help of her family and my mom to help take care of the kids part of the time. I know she (and they) will get into their own routine, but it’s going to be hard not being a part of it.

I do know one thing is certain. If I’m going to be gone, with myself and my family making sacrifices for me to do so, I’m going to take full advantage of the opportunity. Doing so will be the only way to ensure that the time away was fully worth the investment.

How do you deal with being gone from loved ones (or vice versa)? Let me know @TalkToErik.