Why I’m not attending Alt Summit NYC (Part 1)

Alt Design Summit is hosting their first-ever New York City event today, and I’m not there. I was supposed to be there — I even bought a ticket to attend — but I’m not. So why am I not attending Alt Summit NYC? Two reasons…

Reason #1: Logistics, baby.

Specifically, I couldn’t work out the logistics of traveling alone with a baby (well, toddler). Yes, I’ve flown solo with Levi before, but he was an itty bitty baby back then and slept for most of each plane ride. Now, he easily gets bored and is wholly uninterested in sitting on my lap for three hours. I nearly cried out of frustration on our last flight, and I had JB sitting next to me!

Plus, the thought of having to schlep Levi, his stroller and our luggage into New York City via NJ Transit and then the subway was causing me to have night sweats.

Assuming I could get us into the city without having a nervous breakdown en route, what would I do with Levi during the all-day conference? My mom, who is retired and lives in New Jersey, would have gladly watched Levi but she is on vacation this week. My sister would’ve taken a day off from work to babysit, but she just returned to the office after her own week-long vaycay.

And, no, leaving Levi at home with his daddy wasn’t an option either.

Even if I had been willing to put up with the aggravation of traveling with a toddler and had found somebody to watch Levi for the day, however, I just couldn’t justify the cost of the plane ticket for a 36-hour stay in New York. I might have considered extending the trip if the three of us weren’t already planning to be in NJ over Labor Day weekend. JB and I briefly talked about Levi and I staying and him flying out that first weekend of September, but spending more than 10 days on the East Coast seemed, well, a bit excessive.

Still, I might have sucked it up and gone to Alt Summit NYC anyway if not for Reason #2…

to be continued

{image :: The Print Boutique}