Time to rethink that souvenir, ya'll

I LOVE MONDAYS Tip of the Week

I want to rock me some cowboy boots like these:

That’s just one of the things I learned while speaking at the “Celebrating Women: Mind, Body, Spirit” conference in Galveston, Texas last Friday. I mean, you don those babies and there is no way you aren't going to own the room. And unlike heels, which I still teeter in like a little girl practicing to look like her mama, I feel like I could get my true saunter on with these gems.

It was a fabulous conference filled with with bright, bold women exchanging enlightening information. It was also a glimpse into my future. I learned from Dr. Catherine Hansen about sex in our sixties (i.e. Did you know that Crisco is a safe lubrication?) and from Dr. Tristi Muir how to “mambo through my menopause” (I don’t know when it will hit but I want serious amounts of estrogen patches, air conditioners and good friends at the ready).

Here’s something I learned from Texas comic Lyssa Graham, who sat next to me and kept me in stitches: proper etiquette in the South demands that after you make a snarky comment about someone (i.e. “That guy is as lost as a ball in high weeds”), it should be followed up with “Bless his/her heart.” Apparently, the latter puts you back in good graces. I’ve already gotten this phrase jump-started in the Northeast corridor among my friends. Thank you, Lyssa, for sharing this gift with us Yanks. We owe you one.

And now we are finally getting to the I Love Mondays tip of the week: when you’re travelling for business and have no time to get your daughter a souvenir, grab hotel bath-items to bring home as a spa kit. (Sorry, hotel staff, but a working mama does what she has to do.) Here’s the one I put together for Risa (I supplied the small basket):                                                                                     

I suggest in I Love Mondays that it is a big (if understandable) mistake for working moms on a business trip to promise souvenirs for their kids. It's a tempting way to cheer them up when they miss us ("I have a big gift for you!"), but it leaves us in the likely position of 1) letting down our kids, 2) having to keep upping the stakes on our travel gifts, and 3) most likely, making ourselves insane when we don't have the means/time to hunt down the gift. What we don't need is more stress in our lives! I like this strategy from one mom I interviewed last year: bring home a magnet at the airport from whatever state you're in--no problem to track down, cheap, and easy to pack. Let's keep it simple, mamas.