Summer Travels When You CAN’T Just Pick Up and Go.

It‘s kind of like a trunki for grownups.  I mean, even though I have a full set of luggage that Scott and I share for the wedding, there’s something about this case that SCREAMS Business Traveler. Either that or “I implement my odd sense of humor into even my travel gear.” {more accurate.} At any rate, I totally freakin’ want that bad boy girl.

Three conferences and two speaking engagements in the next three months.  Does that sound like something I can handle? I’m definitely going to need to buy something fancy and impulsive to deal with the pressure.  {Does this eyesore that I inexplicably love count as “fancy?}  Too bad my “buying fancy things” budget isn’t exactly at an all time high at the moment. (Thanks quarterlies!  Self employment may be freeing…but it ain’t free.)  But I digress.

I haven’t done a ton of traveling since I had Dee.  Scott and I spent a few nights away from her in January but this summer there are unprecedented plans taking shape that involve me leaving my little beloved.   Something I find so difficult that I’ll literally be spending 30 hours in Michigan next week at the Forward with Ford conference along with 99 other bloggers, and then turning around and coming home in time to kiss m’lady goodnight.   But I’ll get to hear Malcolm Gladwell speak in between, and hopefully play more chicken with uncrashable cars and meet some more fantastic blogging folk.

*Sigh*  When did I become this Mom that travels?  When did I become “blogging folk?” even?  In August, I’ll be spending a record 5 days away from my girl for the BlogHer conference (did I mention I’ll be SPEAKING as a Pathfinder by the way?  What?  Who’s having a panic attack?  Everything is totally fine.)

But this post isn’t about my anxiety over traveling, or public speaking, or this weird world of blogging and how fast it can go from a hobby to a jobby ~ what possessed me to say YES to Detroit (those Ford folks really won me over at Idol) it’s about grown-up travel shit.  (Obviously, per the psychedelic hearts suitcase above ~ but c’mon, no one is running off with that claiming it’s theirs at baggage claim, right?)  Fun times!   I’m a shopaholic! And then also, it serves the double purpose of me talking about how much more complicated the decision to travel becomes once there’s a tenant in your building (I’m talkin’ about having kids, yo.) The worst part is how much I miss Delilah, and how guilty I feel when I forget to miss her.

1.  My Husband and my Mother have to coordinate.  DANGER WILL ROBINSON, DANGER.

2. I have to be super responsible and make sure I have enough prescriptions to get me through the trip…not like Utah, where I left grip marks in a wooden table during an interview (which I never saw, by the way…Deca…Ahem.)

3.  I have to get dressed, and I am NOT good at pre-picking outfits.  Maybe I should get Jessica to come help me pack.  What’s the weather like in Detroit?   I’m all psyched to pack my bathing suits for San Diego (more on how I plan to brave a bathing suit with my postpartum sexiness in another post.)

4.  I have to work from the road, and it’s two days that get blocked out from me being able to do screenwriting stuff.  I hate that.

5.  I will really miss my kid.

6.  Traveling is stressful.

7.  Is THIS the event that I want to put all of this effort into?  What will I get out of it besides feeling fancy and having an all expenses paid trip to….DETROIT.  (Although I have to say, seeing the city that’s working so hard to rebuild is actually pretty intriguing to me.)

And we haven’t even planned a family vacation yet.

I want these guys too.  Keep my clothes all neat and contained instead of how I pack.

But on the flip side, every time I’ve been able to put the social anxiety aside and participate in an offline event, the benefits I’ve reaped have been immeasurable.  So I’m doing it. Mostly because I kind of love those Ford folks – feels like they care about what I have to say.   Maybe it’s an illusion, but I like it.

And I’m looking for advice on a cute laptop bag…preferably messenger style, but roomy enough to be a carry-on.   LIKE THIS ONE. But not $200, because I have a functioning backpack, it just cramps my airport navigation style. (Like, how fast I want to speed between inexplicably slow moving travelers.  DON’T YOU PEOPLE HAVE SOMEWHERE TO BE!?)

Anyway…AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!  Thoughts?