The Cat’s Away
Monday, April 29th, 2013From Monday Mom – Neetika:
Yesterday, my husband Joe left on a business trip. He’s a three hour plane ride away. The conference he’s attending– and his firm is running– is three days long. Obviously this is not that long a period of time. When I was a working woman, I traveled a lot. I’d be away all week or if the project required it, for months at a time. Of course, I was single then so it didn’t matter in the sense that wherever I was working was right where I wanted to be. Joe, on the other hand, would rather be home with his family. And that’s where we wish he was too.
I hate when Joe’s away because Haley misses him, I miss his help with Haley and around the house, and most of all, I just like having him here to talk to. Anyone who’s been in a relationship knows what I’m talking about. Your partner is your person. There to listen to every detail of your day, no matter how meaningless. There to be a sounding board for new ideas, a support system for frustrations. When you are accustomed to being in a rhythm with someone, you miss hearing their thoughts as much as you miss sharing your own. Sometimes I can’t bring myself to make a decision for Haley unless I say it out loud to Joe first.
Fortunately, our world is more connected than ever and through text, email, and calling, Joe and I can be in constant communication. By the way, I’m completely discounting what’s really hard here– the difficulty of being a single parent for a few days– because my parents are helping me out with Haley. And I realize that missing a husband for half a week is in no sense a big deal. I would never want to minimize the kind of sacrifice and strength it takes to be a military wife like Wednesday Mom.
The brightest spot of this business trip is that I arranged to meet Joe in a few days close to his sunny destination! We are having a quick trip, just the two of us, to celebrate our upcoming five year anniversary. Then, we’ll be able to make up for this lost time.