So tired of DH being out of town

[dotgirl]

I know that some people have husbands who are gone more often than they are home, and seriously, I don't know how you guys do it!

My DH was gone for a week in April, a week in May, and is getting home this afternoon after having been gone since last Sunday. And the best part is that he arrives today (Friday) and has to leave again to catch a 3pm flight on Sunday. So he won't even be home for the whole weekend before he's gone again.

You wouldn't think that dealing with a 3-year old all by myself for a week would exhaust me, but it does!

Bleh.

[Mommy Of A Little Angel]

I can totally sympathize. I am continually in awe how single parents can get everything done! DH has been working awful awful hours for a few months now. (He goes to work at 9:30am and gets home at 2:30am - this includes Saturdays!) I am just trying to get through it. It is tough for everyone and we are all exhausted. I am so sorry that your DH is traveling so much! I hope these trips die down soon and things can get back to normal!

[dotgirl]

Sadly, I think this is "normal" now - he now manages all the data centers, countrywide, for a large corporation headed by a Mouse, founded by men named "Roy" and "Walt", so he has to visit those on a quarterly basis.

And he has to go to more conferences now, and do more presentations for the "home" office, which is down in Burbank.

I think we'll be ok, I just need to put some coping plans in to place. I think the best plan is to have my in-laws come up every few months and stay with the kids - that way I can go with him on the trip. And visit spas around the country. ;)

[JoyNChrist]

HUGS!!!

It is SO hard! DH is now working out of town during the week and coming home on Friday evenings (late, like 9pm), then leaving again Sunday afternoon (between 3 & 4pm).

I hate it, and I'm getting exhausted. You wouldn't think it would be that hard, since I'm a SAHM, only have one 3 month old baby (who is pretty good - sleeps most of the night, rarely cries, etc), and have very little housework to do since DH is gone and I'm a fairly neat person. But it's really, really difficult.

The best advice anyone gave me is to get out of the house every single day, even if you just walk around Target or sit in the park for an hour. Otherwise you get really bad cabin fever.

So much commiseration, mama - and hats off to you single parents and military mamas...I don't know how y'all do it!

[hillview]

HUGS HUGS HUGS

I can so relate. DH has been out of town for over a week, comes home tomorrow night and then leaves for 5 more days on Sunday. SUCKS.

I think it is so very exhausting and you have to feel very put upon -- and I am sure you are doing a FAB job and deserve a break! HUGS!!

/hillary

[egoldber]

Its hard. Honestly, DH's travel schedule is why I put Sarah in preschool starting when she was 2 (for 2 days a weeks). I needed some solid blocks of alone time to not go off the deep end.

But I actually think that frequent travel, in some ways, is easier to deal with than infrequent travel. You eventually develop a new routine for when he's away. I let a lot of rules slide. We go out to dinner by ourselves (low key places) as a treat for us. We go special places (story times, lunch at Nordstrom) when he's gone. We have things for dinner that DH doesn't like and ice cream for dessert. I try to make them special times.

I also completely agree with the getting out of the house every single day even if its only to roam the aisles of Target. You need to see the outside of your own four walls, which can be hard in the winter.

If you can, try to find a friend in a similar boat. A friend of mine has a DH who is a patent attorney and does a lot of high profile litigation. So its not travel, but when he's working on a major case, he works 16-18 hour days every day for months. We would hook up and have dinner together, get our girls together while we chatted. It worked out well for both of us.

Definitely find ways to pamper yourself and get some you time. It is HARD being on call 24/7 for a week or more at a time.

[scoop22]

big hugs to you as i get tears.. dh leaves tomorrow till august. i can go and visit him but he will be working the entire time. he has taken a summer camp job again. he will be home sat. evening till sunday morning which means the grass needs mowed and all the things i broke for the week needs fixed. it is hard on me and ds. ds will not know dh when get comes home. it makes me sad..

i hope things get easier for you. i agree with a pp. getting out does help so much. i can relate
http://b2.lilypie.com/XbITm4.png

[Mommy Of A Little Angel]

Ugh I am so sorry. Definitely get a routine going and as PPs said, get out of the house at least once a day. I think the people at Target might know my name at this point. Or they think I am casing the place for a huge robbery. ;)

It's times like these when I wish people on here weren't so spread out! We could all get together and help each other through these times.

[lizajane]

sending hugs. my dh rarely leaves town, but i HATE it when he does. so you have my empathy!!!

[tylersmama]

Hugs.

I know how hard it is. DH travels usually 4 days a week (usually leaves Sunday night or Monday morning, comes back Thursday or Friday night), just about every week, and has been doing so since about October. Before that, it was 3 days a week, so not much better, but a little.

I agree with the pps. Get out of the house. I joined a group of moms that hike with their babies and it has saved my sanity. We try to get out and hike at least 3 times a week. One or two days a week we try to do something else with some great friends I've made from hiking, like go to the zoo or go to the pool. I try to keep one day free of scheduled activities so we can do errands like going to the grocery store and the dry cleaners. Keeping busy is the only thing that keeps me going. If I was sitting around the house all day, I honestly think I would go nuts.

Hang in there. It gets better once you get used to it a little.