By Shirin Yadegar
Have you ever traveled 6000 miles away from your children? When my husband initially asked me to join him in Shanghai, I said there was no way in hell. Who on earth leaves four kids for a week. What if there was an earthquake, what if one of the girls got sick? Who would drive them to and from school and all of their extracurricular activities? How would my younger girls feel? Would my toddler and one year old feel abandoned? Too much to plan. Too challenging. Too far away.
As my husband was preparing to take off for Beijing, he emailed me my itinerary and told me there was no refund on the several thousand dollar airfare. He and my mom had plotted together that she and my dad would move in for the week. It was one of the best weeks of my life.
Shanghai is a beautifully manicured city with the charm of the old world and the technology of the future. We ate fantastic authentic Chinese food, shopped in Chinatown and partied at the best nightclubs. Hong Kong was our next stop. The Landmark Mandarin Oriental hotel greeted us as if we were royalty. Located in central HongKong, we were able to walk everywhere from our hotel. Hong Kong is a metropolis that offers everything from fabulous restaurants and night life to trendy shopping and beautiful beaches. Three nights in Hong Kong was perfect!
Surprisingly, the kids survived without any catastrophes and no one seemed to be traumatized. Next time my husband asks me to join him on a business trip, I will gladly accept because after 5 days of one on one time I have fallen madly in love with the man who I seemed to be drifting away from because of our hectic lives of children and work. Lesson learned, always make time for your partner and yourself. You will be a better mom!
Shirin Yadegar is the creator of Los Angeles Mom Magazine. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and four daughters.