Wow, been a long time since I’ve posted. Sorry about that. I have excuses, but you don’t want to hear them.
Hubby left just after Thanksgiving to work in North Dakota for 3 weeks. I was seriously shocked at how much busier I felt after he left. See, we have a very “traditional” relationship. I cook, clean, do laundry, run kids around, and take care of all the very stereotypical “wifely” duties. I didn’t think this would change much with him gone. I do it all anyway, you’d think it would be EASIER with him gone. One less person dirtying laundry, one less dish to wash at night, one less person leaving stuff lying around for me to pick up, etc.
Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I think hubby doesn’t contribute. He does. He works 60 hour work weeks to keep our business going to put food on the table so I CAN be a “traditional” wife. I am very thankful for that and appreciate him more than he probably knows.
But I do admit, I thought my daily wifely duties would be much easier without him around. I had high expectations of myself when he left. I thought I’d finish the table I started building. I thought I’d build the storage bench I designed and bought wood for (4 weeks ago). I thought I’d get a bunch of boxes unpacked. I thought I’d get some touch up painting done. I thought I’d blog every day. I thought I’d try new recipes I didn’t think he’d like. I thought I’d start cleaning out the barn. I thought I’d solve world hunger….okay, maybe not that one, but all the rest for sure.
HA! WRONG!
I may have had two fewer loads of laundry over the three week period and 10 fewer dishes to wash, but it did not make up for all the extra stuff I had to do. From the little things like feeding the dogs and taking out the trash to the big things like running kids around, hubby’s actually quite a contributor to our daily routine. I was surprised at how overwhelmed I was on a daily basis. How at the end of each day I felt like I hadn’t gotten hardly anything done that I’d set out to do. It was actually quite shocking!
I have a new respect for military wives and honestly don’t know how they go for months without their spouses. I am far to selfish and needy….
He is home now and I forced him to sit on the couch Saturday evening and all day Sunday with us watching TV. He didn’t put up much of a fight.
