I Hate Traveling

I don't dislike traveling myself, just when Jerry has to travel for work.  Before we had children, Jerry traveled a lot for work.  It didn't bother me then as I was a first year teacher and was crazy busy with work stuff.  It also gave me a chance to hang with my family without feeling guilty that I wasn't at home with my husband. 

Now, it's just a royal pain in the ass when he has to travel.  I have to be at work no later than 6:50.  (I usually get to work around 6:40 to beat the busses and the drop off traffic.)  Daycare does not open until 6:30 and is roughly 25 minutes away from the school.  This means that I need help getting the kids to daycare because it's a scramble to get myself and two kids ready and out the door before 6AM, not to mention it is a major change to what they are used to.  They normally don't get to daycare until almost 9:00 when daddy drops them off.  When Jerry is on a trip, I take the kids to my parent's house and let them sleep over there.  It's just easier for everyone this way.  My mother doesn't mind because she loves to spoil those kids rotten, but I feel really bad that she has to take on such a huge responsibility.  She has my sister's help now that she's home from college and taking a full year off before she goes to grad school, so I'm sure that's a huge relief to her.  (My mom works full-time as a hair stylist, so she's on her feet all day long.) 

I know my kids have a really great time at my parent's house, but I still feel really guilty about leaving them there.  They are my children and my responsibility to take care of.  I definitely could not do it alone and am grateful that my parents are so close to us, 5 houses away to be exact, and they are so willing to help us out when we need it.  That's just how my family is though; we are expected to be such a huge part of each other's lives.  This is our normal.  If we were in Indiana we would not get the help we get here with my family.  Jerry's family just doesn't work that way.  I don't know why, but it is what it is.