What a business conference taught me about my marriage

 

As an entrepreneur, I attend several business and blogging conferences throughout the year to better myself so I am able to reach my audience effectively. Normally, when I attend these business conferences, I am so focused on the material, making connections and fulfilling any volunteer work I signed up for that I don’t plan any extracurricular activities or meet with friends and family outside of the conference attendees. So this weekend, at Type A Parent Conference in Atlanta, GA, it was no difference for me except, my husband tagged along for the trip.

Now anyone who has attended any business conference knows that you are so engrossed in what the conference has to offer that you are too pooped to really focus on husband and/or kids. The good thing about this conference was it wasn’t in my home town so we stayed at the conference hotel, Grand Hyatt Buckhead. Staying at the conference hotel eliminated the distractions of everyday life. And the Grand Hyatt Buckhead was perfect to spoil the attendees of Type A and our spouses.

 

 

My husband, we will call him “Holding My Spouse“, is very familiar with my conference mood, attitude, and focus so he wasn’t bothered with being left alone all day while I attended the conference; however, I was. I respect and love him for supporting me in my business and blogging endeavors but “why couldn’t I devote some of my time with my husband during the conference?”

 

 

One of the speakers at Type A, Thom Singer, talked about The Power of IRL interactions. He shared a couple of golden nuggets about getting away from behind the computer and interact with people in real life. His thoughts wasn’t specifically about marriage but you know me, everything is about the marriage relationship in my eyes.

Here are a few of my takeaways from Thom speech:

 

. @thomsinger : ‘choose to be WITH people and not distracted by technology.’ Couples make sure u r 100% available 4ur spouse #typeacon #SDMS

— Pamela K (@datingmyspouse) September 21, 2014

 

It’s the little things you do consistency [in marriage] that adds up? Don’t neglect the small things @thomsinger #typeacon #SDMS

— Pamela K (@datingmyspouse) September 21, 2014

As Thom was sharing his thoughts and encouraging us, I was reflecting on my husband who was patiently supporting me but was “stuck” in the room playing his playstation. There is absolutely no reason, I cannot have lunch with him one of the days during the conference. I could even forgo one of the night activities to have our own special date night together while in Atlanta. All of those are great ideas and I did just that and more but one thing that he wasn’t expecting and I took the initiative to do: is get us a couples massages while we were at the conference.

Thanks to RedFin, one of Type A Parent conference sponsors, for the Relaxation lounge that included massages. The representative kindly allowed Holding My Spouse to get a massage. What a wonderful experience we enjoyed together outside in front of the waterfall at the Grand Hyatt Buckhead. Perfect scenery. Perfect masseuses. Perfect day for a date with my spouse.

This really showed me that even while attending a business conference, I can still be connected and in-tune with my spouse. Yes, you are there on business but there is no greater business than your marriage. Prioritizing my time allowed me to focus on the conference presenters, make connections and complete my job assignment while still getting in quality time with my spouse.

Business conferences don’t have to be boring. They don’t have to be time away from your spouse nor do they have to be a time to neglect your spouse. I really enjoy when Holding My Spouse tags along for my business events. It gives an opportunity to get creative with spending time together but he also gets an opportunity to peek into my world. Learn more about what I do and my blogging friends.

So the next time you have a business trip planned, include your spouse as a “tag along.” You will be pleasantly surprised at how much calmer and enjoyable your business trip will be.

For more information about Type A Parent Conference and the conference sponsors and speakers visit the Type A website.

Visit the Grand Hyatt Buckhead site for more information about the beautiful Grand Hyatt Buckhead and to plan an weekend getaway stay at the Grand Hyatt.