Missing my son’s 1st birthday today. #sad

Seriously? It’s a first birthday. Save the dramatic mid week trip home for when he’s 8 and doesn’t make the travel baseball team

Wife made me promise to take the day off on kid’s birthday every year. Best decision ever.

Get on a plane and go home. Your wife says she’s ok with you not being there but she’s not.

Sorry just making assumptions being in the consulting dads bowl.

Is this your first kid? If so, it’s Wednesday and I’d encourage you to go home if you were on my team. Very first birthday won’t happen again and you should be there with your wife to celebrate it!

Frankly, the 1yo won't remember his first bday later, but his mom sure will. Go home now. Family emergency. Great idea, BCG1. I'll start doing that, too.

My daughter's first bday I ended up taking a work call on the Autobahn during a thunderstorm with wife and daughter in the car. Even though I'd taken vacation. Needless to say, I'm still being reminded about that. Don't be me.

Go home, this time will not come again, every kid is special. Given he will not remember, you and your wife will 20 years from now when looking back. Life is short, work will never end

Go home!

This is a life choice plain and simple. My family have a standing rule that anniversary, valentines, and birthdays are sacred. Get them on the PTO calendar, socialize early, and no one bats an eye.

The simple reality that you’re thinking about your sons birthday and that you want to be there bad enough to be sad about it, and so conflicted that you’re posting on FB, is reason to reconsider what you’re doing and why.

Why are you away from your son? If you had to be at a client, why? Are the benefits of being on site more important than the benefits of being there with your son? These are purposeful questions to get you to think through your values structure, make up your mind about it, so that you can be confident that the choices you make are leading toward the right future for you and your family.

Make your son think his birthday lasts all the way till Sunday evening...FaceTime him and make him think that you’re in the midst of preparing for massive weekend birthday celebrations. That’s exactly what I’d do.

#choices

One of my prior bosses defined it well. None of this work is life threatening, it can wait or get delegated to others

There are times in life when you have to make a choice. Every choice communicates what you view as important to those in your life, family, work, or otherwise. Make more choices that send the right message to the right people. Different groups in your life will often take opposing views of the same decision. You decide what "right" is. It's your life, your family, your career, your choice.

Important is to socialize early about your PTO plan, no client or senior would stop you from taking a day off for important day in your life.. it's about priorities.. I took leave plus work from home for remaining days for my son's first birthday and it was one of best decisions..

You can do something on the weekend!

No work is important enough to miss a first birthday

#regret, go home!

BCG2, I just said “Go home”, did not imply anything on a gender perspective. Also, who says OP can’t be a woman and have a wife? Not exclusive either, huh?

Feel for you OP. If you can’t be home, try to make it up in a meaningful way when you get home