Somewhere In The Middle Of Nowhere
Road trip with my son
I travel with my kids a lot. I do this because it’s fun for me and fun for them, and also because I grew up tagging along with my parents wherever they went, and I think it was a pretty valuable part of my upbringing – it helped me learn to get along wherever, whenever, with whoever. But traveling with children isn’t without its complications (from epic in-flight disasters to sleep strikes). It’s one thing if you’re going on vacation and can give them your undivided attention – but if you’re traveling for business, as I usually am at least in part, you have to do some juggling and plan out in advance how you’re going to make it work.
On this particular trip to New York I decided to bring along Goldie, because I want to take advantage of the free-flights-when-you’re-under-two thing as much as possible and because she just hit the age where she understands that iPads are a gift from the heavens and is thus (relatively) non-terrible to fly with. Most of what I’m doing here is working with Erin on book layout stuff, which is pretty baby-friendly work involving us sitting at a table and staring at a massive projection screen while our daughters putter around together…but I’ve also had a few other commitments at which the presence of a small person yelling “PINK! KITTY CAT!” for no apparent reason might have been mildly distracting.
Over the past couple of years I’ve gotten a bunch of questions about how I handle childcare when traveling for work, and the answer has always been that I essentially improvise: I take them with me on sets and such when I can, and beg my mom or a friend for help when I can’t. Lately, though, traveling has become such a big part of my work life that I really do need a way more reliable way to get assistance when I need it. (And besides: begging isn’t an especially cute look on anyone.)
Hell’s Kitchen | NYC
In the playground I grew up playing in, waiting for the Chime sitter to arrive.
This week, I tried out a service called Chime (an offshoot of Sittercity, which some of you might be familiar with). What appealed to me about this service: every single sitter is hand-picked and undergoes an enhanced background check, identity verification, and social media screening, and only about 1 in 5 make the cut. And when choosing a sitter, you can see each one’s experience, reviews, and ratings from other parents, along with video interviews. And! – this is great – there are no subscription fees or commitments: you just sign up, book and pay over the internet, and move on without having to spend twenty million hours on the phone with customer service to cancel your fifty-dollar-a-month account (speaking from experience here).
* * * JUST FOR YOU * * *
RG readers can get $50 off their first trial of Chime (also available in Boston, Chicago and Washington, D.C.) using coupon code GLAM.
(Offer expires 8/31/16)
* * *
For Wednesday’s meetings, I hired a lovely young woman named Trisha who was in touch with me via text almost immediately after being hired to see whether I had any specific needs or requests. She hung out with Goldie at my parents’ place, took her to the playground, and sent me photos and updates every so often, and when I got back my daughter was happily passed out in her arms. (My dad was working from home in another room, and confirmed that the afternoon had been great, and that Trisha had been nothing but attentive and caring from start to finish.)
Short story: it was a completely seamless experience from top to bottom, and I’ll be using the service again in the future – especially if I come to the city with Kendrick and feel like having a date night; that would be amazing and can that happen please? …Soon?
Museum Of Natural History | Upper West Side
NYC adventuring with my daughter
This post was created in collaboration with Hello Chime.
