Job keeps reader from love of travel

Dear Annie: I have a fulltime job, and I love it. However, I’m never happier than when I’m traveling. How do I make peace with the fact that I probably can’t travel more than twice a year now that I work a 9-to-5? Is there some way I could travel more than that?

Wanderlust While Working

Dear Wanderlust While Working: Look into weekend trips that are driving distance from your town. Often, there are more amazing things than we realize just beyond our backyards. Plan ahead to maximize use of long weekends, and consider using vacation days to extend them. If you have been at your job for a while, it’s worth having a conversation with him or her about the possibility of sometimes working remotely.

Dear Annie: I am late coming to the conversation, but I came across your columns with the survey about whether people would have children if they had it to do over again. My husband and I have been married for 50 years, and we chose not to have children for a variety of reasons. I have often been asked when meeting someone new, “Do you have children?” I answer, “No, my husband and I chose not to have any. Tell me about yours.” And then the conversation happily turns to the pleasure of their kids.

I phrase my comment so that no one is left wondering whether we tried and couldn’t have them, we had one and something happened or some other situation prevented us from having children. What I have found amazing is the vast number of times someone responds to my comment with something like the following: “I love my children, and I’d be devastated if something happened to one of them.

But if I had it all to do over again, I wouldn’t have any” or “I’d only have one (or two or three or whatever the case may be).” No Kids, Thanks

Dear No Kids: Your way of responding when people ask whether you have children is stellar.

Plus, asking others more about themselves is a sure way to be an artful conversationalist in general.