I recently had the honor of attending a women’s dinner featuring the CEO of United Therapeutics, Martine Rothblatt. Martine is many things, including lawyer, author, entrepreneur, CEO of the wildly successful biotechnology company United Therapeutics, and maybe most importantly, a mom. As a working mother myself, I found her to be many things, none short of awe-inspiring.
After Martine’s talk, the room was opened up to a Q & A, and not surprisingly one of the first questions asked of her was “How do you balance life as a CEO and mother?” I think this is a question that many working moms battle with on a daily basis, particularly those who are required to travel as part of their jobs. This question is what inspired my blog post today.
3 Tips for Easier Trips as a Traveling Mom
- Take-Off: I speak from experience when I say that having someone drop me off at the airport with my kids in tow helps ease the anxiety that they experience while I’m away. It’s fun for the kids (particularly my 2-year-old son) to watch the airplanes taking off, and some of that excitement tends to distract him from the sadness of saying goodbye.
- Note Worthy: My daughter, who is in first grade, recently mastered how to read. I will leave her notes in special places, including her backpack, lunch box, night stand, and bookshelf, where I know she will find them. These little notes help her feel that I’m present, even when I can’t be there in the morning to see her off to school.
- A Goodnight Story: Thank goodness for technology! What we have found works well for our family is my reading a bedtime story to the kids via FaceTime while I’m away. This ritual helps to maintain some of our normal routine, even when I’m thousands of miles away.
What tricks have you found help ease the anxiety on your kids while you’re away for business? Feel free to share your ideas in our comments section below. Safe travels!