Last week in-between meetings I went for a quick swim in the Mediterranean Sea…
I very rarely go away with work and even more rarely to places that have seas you can swim in without freezing bits off. Because of its rarity the idea of travelling for work still seems moderately fun – I think it makes me feel like a secret agent or something. But as the trip grew closer the reality of leaving the family behind was really impacting on the enjoyment of my secret agent fantasy.
The goodbye’s were not much fun and explaining to Adlai I’d be gone for a few days was painful (though more to me than him it seems). I realised that everything I was doing would have been infinitely more fun with my family. Without them a train to the airport is just a train to an airport but with them it’s an adventure. And so the theme continued – things that should have been awesome became a bit functional; the huge selection of movies that the boys would have loved, the buffet, the bar the beach and the pools… with them awesome… without them functional or not required. Even my trip into the Mediterranean Sea was more to say tell the kids that I’d done it than through any real desire.
The hotels and airports presented plenty of opportunity to pick out gifts for the boys who were incredibly easy to please. A fridge magnet, my hotel slippers and some sweets with foreign writing on have been a huge success. In hindsight I should have collected extra slippers and hotel freebies for Christmas and birthdays.
It was less secret agent and more real life – I enjoyed the trip but coming home was a highlight. James Bond can keep the travel – the kind of adventure I’m after involves a wife and 2 boys asking me if we are there yet.
