A Mom, on the road...again!

Welcome to the Globe Hopping Mom blog! I created this blog to share tips, tricks and war stories from moms like me -- the traveling kind. If you know which terminal at the Philly airport sells the best cheese steaks, how to travel cross country and avoid O'Hare, which frequent stay programs offer the best rewards and which hotels the best workout rooms, how to convert US dollars to Kronas without asking and how to bring home gifts for the kids that don't look like they came from the airport gift shop (even if they have!) then this blog is for you!

I work for a global company. That means I am expected to travel - a lot. This weekend I am heading to Munich -- four days of travel for an 8-hour meeting. (Somehow video conferencing sounds great but it doesn't build relationships like a trip to the Beirgarten!). My company is based in Sweden, I am based in Philadelphia but actually live in upstate NY -- long story. So while I can work from home sometimes, my office is in Philly and I am there several times per month.

My biggest gripe? If you travel for work you've lived it...the awful state of the air travel industry today. The lines at security, the endless corridors (in high heels) to the gates -- mine is always at the very end of the row, the late planes, the small planes, the planes with overhead bins that barely hold my purse let alone my overnight bag. I can deal with the crying babies, the rude staff and the lack of food and drink, just get me to the church on time!

Every time I creep out of the house at 5:30 a.m. to catch a flight I leave behind my two children, 13 and 11 and my husband. Do I feel guilty, yes. But I am also proud that they have figrured out how to eat, sleep and bathe without my constant supervision. I hope I am helping them to become more self-sufficient and confident. But that might just be me trying to make myself feel better.

From now on I wil post my own experiences as a traveling mom. I hope you will respond and share your own, you know, like when the 6pm flight has been delayed to 8:05 and you can't face another email! Until then, bon voyage!