My Field Trip

If you look in Webster's dictionary a "field trip" is defined as: a visit made for purposes of firsthand observation.

A few weeks ago my husband and I went on a field trip. We went to Omaha to meet with the founders and employees at the headquarters of a business we were considering becoming a part of. My husband wanted "firsthand observation" of this business and the people we would be working with. For him, it was an intense find out mission. For me, it felt like a field trip to the land of the grown-ups.

For the past eight years I have been a full-time mother. Before that, I was an elementary school teacher. I started working in a local school my first semester of college and worked there almost until graduation. I have spent half my life being a kid, and the other half working with kids. So the two days I spent with my husband in Corporate America were like visiting another world.

I had the hardest time figuring out what to pack. My standard mom uniform of jeans and a T-shirt was just not going to cut it this time. I felt like Cher in the movie Clueless searching her closet for her "most responsible looking outfit!" We were told that business casual attire would be appropriate for both days. What the heck does "business casual" mean--especially for a woman who has been out of the work force for eight years?! I have exactly one pair of dress pants that I bought last year when I was invited to dinner at the Governor's mansion, otherwise all of my nice stuff is for church. In the end, I decided that it is better to be overly dressy when trying to make a good impression, so along with my good pants I also brought a skirt.

See how foreign this all is to me? I felt totally out of place and I hadn't even left my house yet!

In Omaha we were met at the airport by a chauffeur standing in the baggage claim area holding a sign with our names on it. Crazy, right? I thought that was something that just happened in the movies. We were given a short tour of town from the comfy backseat of a Lincoln Towncar. There were no crumbs on the floor or broken crayons wedged between the seats and no one was wailing "Are we there yet?!"

I could get used to a ride like that.

In the evening we were "wined (not literally!) and dined" at a well-known local steakhouse. The food was amazing but I had the hardest time getting over how expensive it was--even though I knew we wouldn't be paying! To be looking at a menu on which a single entree costs more than I spend in a week at the grocery store, is a little unnerving, at least for me. It was just a little bit outside of my Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger comfort zone.

We spent the entire next day in meetings. It was a whirlwind of new faces and talking and asking questions and scribbling notes. And all the while I'm hoping like crazy that no one sees that my cool and calm demeanor is all fake. At any moment I expected someone to turn to me and say, "You don't belong here. You're totally in over your head." At the end of the day I was mentally and physically exhausted. It's been a long time since I focused my energy so intently on one thing for an entire day like that. I'm used to days that are exhausting because I'm focused on too many different things.

All in all it was a very productive trip.
We learned a lot about this company and last week signed a formal agreement to begin a new business with them.
I learned that I can hold my own in an business environment, although I don't prefer it.
And I learned that even though I enjoy getting an occasional break from wiping my kids noses, I'd never want to be away so much that I'd miss the chance to wipe their tears.