Is the Business Trip Worth the Stress That Follows?

I returned home from a two-day seminar in New York City to find that we were out of milk and my kids had no clean underwear.

Despite the competent dad in charge and the responsible high school senior babysitter, it seems that things fell apart while I – the mom - was gone.

“Mom,” my 9-year-old wailed on the phone. “I hated my lunch today.”

Other issues that arose while I was in a 20-person conference watching a power point were: Who was feeding the guinea pigs, did we have any poster board for a school project and what in the world was for dinner?

I admit to feeling both perverse pleasure at being the One Who Makes the House Run Smoothly and also utter frustration that I couldn’t go away for two days without things deteriorating.

My first day back I washed and folded four loads of laundry, made sure we had milk in the house, cooked a hot dinner, and printed out everyone’s soccer schedule for the week.

My second day back I bought the teenager new soccer cleats, signed church field trip permission slip forms, and comforted the middle child who lost a school contest.

Gone was the down comforter on the hotel bed, the mint-infused water in the lobby, the professional lady clothes during the day and the hip ethnic East Village food at night.

But there was the satisfaction of knowing that the people who needed me the most were fed, watered, clothed and comforted. I’m headed to California for five days at the end of the month and I suspect I’ll hear a refrain of what was said at school drop off yesterday morning. “Mom,” the 9-year-old lamented. “He’s wearing my socks.”

Elizabeth Moore is the Patch Regional Editor for Essex County, including Verona and Cedar Grove.