homebodyGrowing up on the North Shore of Massachusetts, I consider anything below the City of Boston to be the Mid-West. Yea, that’s right…the Mid-West.

You see, we don’t travel much. In fact, a majority of my family (wife’s included) lives on the North Shore and the person living furthest from us is about a 20-minute car ride away (technically, we have relatives in NH and Tennessee but we didn’t see them that much when they lived in MA so they don’t count).

Take this homebody mentality and mix it with a job that often times, requires travel. Then, dash in a wife who is more of a homebody than me as well as two little kids and it makes for high drama any time the words, “Hey, in a couple of weeks I have to go to [fill in the blank place here],” and it’s never a good convo.

Now, being that I’m 6’2″, 220 more like 250 traveling anywhere — even in a car — is not really enjoyable. I hate it. I hate packing. I hate being away from the wife and kids. I hate being taken out of my comfortable routines. Like I said, I hate even traveling in the car to Quincy for that matter (when it’s a 20 min drive through the City of Boston).

I know, that’s pretty very weak. But hey, that’s me being a panzy. Deal with it.

So, now that I’ve brought you up to speed on the mentality for traveling; what goes down on the home front; as well as the the fringe elements that make me cringe stress when I know I need to go somewhere for business, please take a second to digest this:

I’m going to Hawaii.

Yes, Hawaii.

I’m going for roughly a week on business — two days of travel, three days of work sometimes play. Now, this isn’t a trip where I’m jumping on the train and headed to NYC for a day. This is a 15-hour journey one way; a different time zone; unfamiliarity of airports; and, the general uncomfortable feeling when traveling more than 30 minutes away from home.

Yes, I know, it’s Hawaii and my argument is very, very ridiculously, girlie and unmanly weak .

Here’s the kicker kick in the balls though…I’m leaving on my wife’s birthday.

Yea I know, I’m toast sleeping on the couch for a year. I need to come back with something fantastic for her, like, er sunshine pearls, diamonds, a treasure chest full of gold.

Long story short…as a PR professional, you go where the business is where clients tell you to go. I get that. I understand it totally. I’m very excited about the opportunity and discovery, of sorts.

On the other hand, telling my kids that daddy is going to be away for a week land seeing their tears was heartbreaking. The wife understands, but of course, there is anger and jealousy involved. She’ll be at home taking care of the kids, doing her day-to-day routine (which she has down pat like a Jedi master). Then there’s me, gallivanting on the other side of the United States, dipping my toes in the Pacific Ocean, enjoying 80 degree weather and eating dinner sucking back some sort of fruity drink when normally I’d be either sleeping or getting up for work.

Either way, being a homebody is not a travel-friendly trait to have.

I guess when I’m throwing on the flip flops, heading to the beach for a nap, I’ll get over that quick.

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