Anonymous wrote:I'm in a job with some limited travel -- like 2-6 times/yr. Lately though I've had a lot more local work so we're down to more like 2 trips/yr which I'm unhappy with as I prefer to be out of town and out of the office. Am I the only one who lies to DH about "having" to go on business trips? In past years, like 1 or 2 times a yr, it would be an actual 2 night business trip which I'd stretch into 3-4 nights on my own dime. More recently I've suddenly "invented" a reason I need to be away -- taking 1-2 days vacation time and paying for it myself. And before anyone asks -- NO I'm not seeing anyone or having an affair or hooking up on these trips; usually I don't even talk to anyone unless it's like a waiter or hotel check in clerk. Last time I did this, I "had to" travel the week before Christmas and I went to NYC for 2 nights, walked around the city, took in the sights etc. And now it's ONLY been 4 months and I'm kind of looking into booking another 1-2 night getaway. It's just a chance to get away from the routine of work, DH and toddler kids.
I don't pick exotic places -- either NYC (which is common for my work) or some middle market city that I've gone to previously for work that I liked, so I'm ok hanging there for a few days; usually book a nice hotel and just kind of decompress. DH doesn't take care of the finances so it's not like he questions the flight/hotels and if he were to it's easy to say -- oh I put it on our CC for the points but don't worry I've submitted for reimbursement so it'll be in my next paycheck; he isn't following up by checking my paycheck so he has no idea why $500-1000 got spent.
Hung out with a bunch of other moms tonight who were going on about how much they HATE to travel when they have to do it once/yr that they try to get out of it. Meanwhile I'm thinking - am I the ONLY woman who feels this way!? I know dudes who are quick to jump on work trips bc they honestly don't mind being away from their wife/family for a bit and I guess I agree with them. Anyone else??
I haven't known any moms/women who did this -- or if they did they were so senior and so subtle about it that I wouldn't have known because I'd 100% believe it was a business trip. I'm not sure I know any guys like this in my peer group (ages 30-40) either, BUT I definitely know guys in my dad's generation who did this. He used to do a weekly poker night at home and when I got to be old enough to understand what they were talking about when I walked by -- I definitely remembered a few instances of guys bragging about "well I HAVE to go to that sales convention in Miami, as far as Midge knows [wink wink]." But I think that was also a generation of less hands on parenting so guys thought their being away was NBD because feeding/clothing/bathing the kids was not what they were doing when they got home from work anyway.