Cat's in the cradle

I used to idealize business travel. Expense accounts and frequent flier miles were something to look forward to, but these days I would much rather spend my time in my own bed, listening to Finn discuss current events with his Hootie owl over the baby monitor, than I would trying to figure out how to discreetly hack into the hotel neighbor's wi-fi.

I haven't had to travel for work since Finn was born, but that streak ended last week when I made it from Seattle to London to NYC and back inside 5 days and 2 hours, 5 days and 1 hour of which were spent in the air. This was by far the longest that I'd been away from the boy and in that span of time he has started shaving, been married (twice) and retired after a successful career as Journey's fourth lead singer.

He's also got a new word ("wa-wa", which we're pretty sure means either "flower" or "convenience store") and has mastered the art of mountaineering.

He was already starting to climb before I left, having summitted Mount Jungle Gym down at the park and regularly perching himself in the mini easy chair in the bedroom, but he is now legitimately climbing stairs - using feet instead of knees. He's also able to pull a wicked Luke Perry on the gliding ottoman in his bedroom.

That thrills me to no end and not just because I love to see him having that much fun. It's also because I really love Luke Perry.

It's good to be home.