As an academic, one of the many "hats" I wear is that of a traveler. It is hard to be a traveler and a family man. For budgetary reasons it is often difficult to take family with you on trips, but it is also difficult leaving them at home as they miss you. Add to this the fact that I have a tendency to worry about the various aspects of my extended family when I am away, and you get a difficult chimera of issues.

However, travel is good and valuable and important for the academic. In this way, I must plan and travel wisely. The reason this is an issue at the moment is that I am planning on attending a conference to present research this July. The location is in Texas. I am filled with a mixture of excitement (the travel and exploring of new research and other universities is renewing) and dread (worry about family, stress the family will endure).

It is an odd, but necessary aspect of the academic life.

Comments or thoughts are welcome.

PipeTobacco