Commercial barrage

Anytime I doubt the ability of my 5 year old to grasp new information I just need to think to about his latest recital of a commercial he has seen on television. Kids have truly amazing minds.

Dash: "Dad, you really need to buy the sunsetter patio shade"
Dad: "Oh really, why?"
Dash: "It will lower the temperate on our patio by 20 degrees!"

Dash:"Mom, I need to show you this special cutter in the store"
Mom:" What?"
Dash:" It's amazing, you'll never have to cut anything again!"

The list of items we need to buy goes on forever. Dash is a walking "Commercial/Infomercial", but the best was a little nugget he shared with us in the car the other night...

Dash: "Mom, I saw something AMAZING on TV, but it's about something I'm not supposed to talk about"
Mom: "Well you can talk to me about it"
Dash: "You know where your pee comes out of?"
Mom: "Yes honey, you mean your penis"
Dash: " Yeah, I saw on TV that there is a chemical that will make it get REALLY BIG! Isn't that amazing!"
Mom (choking in laughter) " Yes honey, that is amazing"

Ah, the wonders of television and poor parental supervision..........

On the Road Again

Probably the only upside to the economic disaster of the past couple years was that many of us had our travel budgets cut drastically to tighten corporate belts. For me this was definately the case. Both myself and my family became very used to me being around all the time. With the exception of occasional evening conference calls with colleagues in distant time zones I spent most of 2009 on the ground and more importantly home for dinners, baths, and bedtime stories.

Now 2010 has rolled in, not only with the hint of recovery, but for me a new job also. That means I have taken to the skies again and I have been making up for lost frequent flier miles quickly. I set this ridiculous goal in my mind to visit all the sites that I am responsible for in my new job in 6 weeks. This is a self-imposed torture, but I enjoy that part of my job. Meeting with the people who actually add value versus overhead is energizing.

So sadly, having just got home this morning, I am prepping to head out again tomorrow afternoon. I told my 5 year old that I was sorry for having to leave again. He responded, "I don't mind", as if I had just told him I was going to the grocery store. Maybe the LEGOs I came home with this moring were a bit too good of a travel gift?

The volcanic eruption several weeks ago seems to have been my only saving grace and I find myself this Saturday evening hoping that it's current disruption of the airspace in Spain creeps over to Switzerland so that I don't have to catch an aiplane Sunday afternoon. hmmmm. If not, I know they sell LEGOs in the Brussels airport.