Work, work, work – the real reason travel’s tricky

Well, it had to happen eventually. And looking at some of the bills which keep arriving, not a moment too soon – yes, I’m back to work, albeit part-time. Minnie, meanwhile, is busy captivating a whole new audience at her nursery, including parents, assistants and a nine-month-old called Ethan who likes to stroke her hair (head fuzz). Allow me a few moments of maternal pride.

Exactly how I look at work, obviously

Because I’d prefer her to start with a string of shorter sessions at the nursery than a few full days, and because I’m self-employed and have the luxury of being able to make that kind of decision, it does mean that work and childcare are eating into quite a bit of our week. Like real life tends to do.

So part of me is already regretting not having seized more moments to jump on a plane/train/ferry/into the car and explore while we had hardly any commitments and while I only had to fling some bottles in. Yes, weaning isn’t too far off either.

In reality, I’m not sure how I would have managed this without my head exploding so I shan’t beat myself up too much over missed opportunities. And on the plus side, we do seem to be approaching something resembling a routine, even if it is a bit hit and miss, so I’m (ever) optimistic that if we did up sticks to explore that I wouldn’t be woken up every hour during the night.

Of course, I do have plans for a few trips. I always have plans for trips… Firstly, to the US to catch up with some friends and family out there, and which would see us coping with baby jetlag (and probably rueing those overconfident comments about better sleep at night), then possibly Israel and maybe some sunshine back in Lanzarote with my brand shiny new nephew as well. And my itchy feet mean I’m distinctly tempted to fit in a long weekend for a city break, or make the most of being my own boss and take a few days out during the week.

But the only things which have stopped me booking so far are the fact my tax bill is due this month and the aforementioned work. The fact I would be going en famille isn’t causing too many palpitations.

Yes, there’ll be planning, masses of paraphernalia and some disasters, but I’m almost daring to hope that my stubborn belief you can travel with a baby might actually be the truth.

Image: mpujals/Flickr