Catching up
Whew! Life's been gettin' in the way of blogging again!
Zoe is thriving at kindergarten. She's remembering her teacher's name, finally. She's meeting lots of new friends (most of whom are boys, much to M's chagrin). She made it through two and a half days before losing her new lunch bag (it's already been recovered). She still loves putting on her little uniform in the morning, and is doing awesome with her new routine. The second day of school I walked her to the outer school door, then knelt down and asked for a kiss and a hug. She obliged, then asked, "You're not going to take me all the way into the room?" "Nope!" I replied. "You're a big girl now and you know where it is." She paused, then her face lit up. "Okay! Bye!" And off she went without a backwards glance. I was too proud of her to be upset that she's grown so independent. Okay, maybe I was a little upset. I only choked up for a minute, then I was okay. She's doing just fine.
I'm out of town again. Left last night, home tomorrow night (well, tonight technically, since it's after midnight), so it's not too bad. I miss her like crazy, though. I called her from the office tonight, as I'm at our North American headquarters in Lenexa, Kansas once again (this makes three times in four weeks...I asked for an office here today, and got one tentatively approved with the new build-out we're doing to take over the remaining half of our floor). She sounded so happy, and was eager to fill me in on today's activities.
"Sit down. This is a long story so you should get comfortable."
I heard all about how she went to the art room and drew a picture of herself for her art teacher. But then she got to draw a picture of whatever she wanted, so she drew a purple roller coaster that was 10 miles long. Yet another indication that she is, indeed, very much her father's daughter. I loved hearing her little voice. It doesn't really matter to me what she is saying, so long as I get to listen to her. It makes my heart ache, being so far away, but I'll take it knowing that I'll get to see her and kiss her goodnight tomorrow night.
This trip has been good. Well, most all of my trips to Lenexa are good. Many of the folks I work with are here, so it's wonderful to get to see people face-to-face and really connect. I'm still having so much fun at my job that it sorta makes up for having to leave so much. Not really, but it's what I tell myself. Being here is okay, because I'm extremely busy and engaged and having a good time with my colleagues. It's the travel here and the travel home that I've begun to abhor. I'm mixing it up, sometimes driving, sometimes taking the train, sometimes flying. Doesn't matter how I get here, though. It all sucks.
I'm not sure how much travel it will take for M to stop thinking of me as a "business travel novice." I'm kinda hoping he'll get off his high horse soon, though, as I've had a couple things happen on my recent trips that he never experienced in all his years of travel (being held up at the gate due to one extra mystery person being on my plane, and free porn on my hotel television set - neither of which I expected nor wanted). I had a conversation with a colleague this morning who is also in from out of town, where we compared rental cars and determined that the Kia Rio has got to be the worst rental car in the world. I'm racking up more Hilton Honors points than him these days, and am just as sick of eating out as he used to be. Maybe road-warriorness is measured in years or something. If that's the case, I'm happy to relinquish the competition and let him carry the crown. I just wish he wouldn't roll his eyes and poke fun at me when I talk about being sick of traveling, as if my mere months of travel don't warrant feeling like crap when I'm gone, or getting to share road stories with other business travelers.
Okay, it's late, and I'm tired, and it's time to turn in here at the ol' Doubletree. Long day tomorrow, capped with a flight home and a drive straight to school for "Curriculum Night," whatever that is. Zoe isn't the only one learning new things in kindergarten.
Zoe is thriving at kindergarten. She's remembering her teacher's name, finally. She's meeting lots of new friends (most of whom are boys, much to M's chagrin). She made it through two and a half days before losing her new lunch bag (it's already been recovered). She still loves putting on her little uniform in the morning, and is doing awesome with her new routine. The second day of school I walked her to the outer school door, then knelt down and asked for a kiss and a hug. She obliged, then asked, "You're not going to take me all the way into the room?" "Nope!" I replied. "You're a big girl now and you know where it is." She paused, then her face lit up. "Okay! Bye!" And off she went without a backwards glance. I was too proud of her to be upset that she's grown so independent. Okay, maybe I was a little upset. I only choked up for a minute, then I was okay. She's doing just fine.
I'm out of town again. Left last night, home tomorrow night (well, tonight technically, since it's after midnight), so it's not too bad. I miss her like crazy, though. I called her from the office tonight, as I'm at our North American headquarters in Lenexa, Kansas once again (this makes three times in four weeks...I asked for an office here today, and got one tentatively approved with the new build-out we're doing to take over the remaining half of our floor). She sounded so happy, and was eager to fill me in on today's activities.
"Sit down. This is a long story so you should get comfortable."
I heard all about how she went to the art room and drew a picture of herself for her art teacher. But then she got to draw a picture of whatever she wanted, so she drew a purple roller coaster that was 10 miles long. Yet another indication that she is, indeed, very much her father's daughter. I loved hearing her little voice. It doesn't really matter to me what she is saying, so long as I get to listen to her. It makes my heart ache, being so far away, but I'll take it knowing that I'll get to see her and kiss her goodnight tomorrow night.
This trip has been good. Well, most all of my trips to Lenexa are good. Many of the folks I work with are here, so it's wonderful to get to see people face-to-face and really connect. I'm still having so much fun at my job that it sorta makes up for having to leave so much. Not really, but it's what I tell myself. Being here is okay, because I'm extremely busy and engaged and having a good time with my colleagues. It's the travel here and the travel home that I've begun to abhor. I'm mixing it up, sometimes driving, sometimes taking the train, sometimes flying. Doesn't matter how I get here, though. It all sucks.
I'm not sure how much travel it will take for M to stop thinking of me as a "business travel novice." I'm kinda hoping he'll get off his high horse soon, though, as I've had a couple things happen on my recent trips that he never experienced in all his years of travel (being held up at the gate due to one extra mystery person being on my plane, and free porn on my hotel television set - neither of which I expected nor wanted). I had a conversation with a colleague this morning who is also in from out of town, where we compared rental cars and determined that the Kia Rio has got to be the worst rental car in the world. I'm racking up more Hilton Honors points than him these days, and am just as sick of eating out as he used to be. Maybe road-warriorness is measured in years or something. If that's the case, I'm happy to relinquish the competition and let him carry the crown. I just wish he wouldn't roll his eyes and poke fun at me when I talk about being sick of traveling, as if my mere months of travel don't warrant feeling like crap when I'm gone, or getting to share road stories with other business travelers.
Okay, it's late, and I'm tired, and it's time to turn in here at the ol' Doubletree. Long day tomorrow, capped with a flight home and a drive straight to school for "Curriculum Night," whatever that is. Zoe isn't the only one learning new things in kindergarten.
Labels: daily life, work, zoe
posted by Amy at 12:45 AM
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