My First Days Away from Little Guy....

Since Lewie was born, I've been so fortunate to be with him every single day.  Granted, there are days when I come home late from work at 8 or 9 o'clock, but even on those days, I get to greet my little guy in the morning and give him kisses at night (even if he's already fast asleep).

Reuniting with my little guy after a long four days.

Last week was different.  For the first time since Lewie was born, I was scheduled to go away to Poughkeepsie New York for MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) training that would be for four full days.  The idea of becoming an MBTI Certified Trainer made me excited, but I was terrified that I would be leaving my little guy for almost a week.  Would he be able to sleep okay without me?  What if he thought I abandoned him?

My husband and I decided the training was not too far away, and so we made the pact that if Lewie was having a difficult time, my husband would bring him up to Poughkeepsie in the middle of the week to see me.  Then, a colleague of mine from work gave me an even better idea:

"When I had to leave my son for work trips, I would buy him little gifts and hide them throughout the house.  Each night that I was away, I would call him and give him clues on how to find his first gift.  It became a little game between us, and the best part is that he was so excited about finding his presents that he didn't miss me."

My friend from work was right!  I bought Lewie three little gifts for the three nights I would be away from home and wrapped them.  Then, the night before I left, I took care to hide them in safe spots throughout the house--one in the living room, one in the kitchen, and one in the office/play room.  I told Lewie what I was doing, and so he was so excited to get my call the first night I was away from home:  "Mommy, do you think you can give me a clue?" he asked with excitement!

We'd play "hot and cold" over the phone until he found his first gift.  Then, the next night and the next night would be the same thing.  I would call in the morning too, and my son would ask if I could help him find his gift in the morning.  "Nope," I said, "you have to wait until tonight."

In case you are wondering, the three little gifts I bought Lewie were a bubble flashlight, a train jigsaw puzzle, and a Toby Trackmaster train.  They were worth every scent.  The "game" kept both Lewie and I so excited that neither one of us had a chance to shed any tears, and the toys themselves gave Lewie something new to play with to keep his mind occupied.

The good news is that I don't anticipate going to another training like this in a while.  I'll admit that I did enjoy having a few days to myself to break the normal routine, but by the forth day, I couldn't wait to be home!