In other shocking news, the sky is blue

Hey, guess what? When mothers travel for business, sometimes we enjoy ourselves. Do I enjoy spending hours on a plane, or sitting in an airport when my plane is delayed? No, of course not. But I do like reading a book or doing my knitting without Lil Joe trying to pull things out of my hands so that I can pour him some milk. Do I miss Hubby and the kids when I am away? Absolutely. But I also enjoy having a bed to myself in which no one is fighting me for the covers, and I like being able to have someone else make the bed when I leave the room in the morning. I like being able to change into my pajamas and order room service and relax for a night when I know that the following day is going to be 14 straight hours of notetaking and setting up panel discussions and directing meeting attendees to their appropriate track sessions. Hubby has taken a lot of small trips (both work related and personal) over the years since Princess was born, ranging from an overnight excursion to a five-day trek. No one has ever asked him who was taking care of the kids, since it's a pretty simple assumption that I am. Yet, every time I've gone to a conference (three, if you're keeping score) someone brings the question up to me. Before I leave for my trips, I make sure the grocery shopping is done and I leave a list of reminders and tips stuck to the fridge ("Chicken casserole is in the freezer- thaw it overnight and cook for 20 minutes at 350*", "Thursday: ballet class- leotard and tights are in bag hanging on the closet doorknob") but I get to leave it in Hubby's hands beyond that. If I decide to get a massage at the hotel spa after my meetings are over, it's not an indication that I'm a lousy mom who wants to be away from her kids, it's an indication that I'm good enough at managing my time to recognize when I can take advantage of the amenties available to me. That seems like something that men who travel for business learned a long time ago.