It's nothing new. After all, we've been living with this arrangement for 3 years now. But it never seems to get any easier.
I'm talking about being a "single" mother. Not in the typical sense (Mike and I are still going strong after nearly 16 yrs of marriage), but rather while Mike is away from home during the work week.
For those of you who don't know, three years ago Mike was at the brink of exhaustion from working 7 days a week and being on call 24/7. It was not a good situation for him. Or for me and the kids. When he was offered a new position (albeit one that required a lot of weekday travel) it seemed like a good thing. After all, the kids rarely got to see him since he got home after bedtime and with this new job they'd at least seem him on weekends. It was not perfect, but it was an improvement.
Since it was a position that did require travel, we made the difficult decision to keep our family based in NE Ohio (it was closer to family, the school system is excellent and we have a wonderful support system already established). And since then, I've been a "single" mom during the week.
I've become very adept at managing things while he's away. But with Mike on a two-week trip to India, the responsibility is even more intensified.
With a 9.5 hour time difference, communication is going to be pretty limited. That's the worst part. Mike can always calm me down when the kids are being particularly challenging or reassures me that I'm doing a good job. I'll miss that while he's gone. He is my partner, and I rely on him immensely.
Usually, Friday nights are my favorite. Now, I'm looking forward to Mike's Tuesday night return. Tick. Tick. Tick. The time can't come fast enough.
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3 comments:
Oh I remember when my hubby was gone during the week for work all the time, I would go batty, that and feel guilty for wanting time away from the house & the girls but know that it was time away from hubby because they only thing he wanted to do when he came home is "just hang out in his house that he has worked his heart out for"
((hugs))
Michelle, I can't imagine your situation. I hate it when my hubby travels for work just once or twice a year. Everyone just gets crabbier when he is away. We all miss him. So my most frequent prayer for you over these next two weeks will be that God gives you supernatural patience and calmness. Hang in there girl :)
Thanks for your words of encouragement. The kids definitely get crabbier when he's away (I can see it coming already), so supernatural patience and calmness would be a very good blessing.
I have the same feelings about wanting to get away too. Usually, I resort to taking a vacation day during the week so I can have a day to myself. I think I need to do that SOON.
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