Help
With Your Rule
When Husband Travels...
Dear Holly,
I have two questions having to do with the fact that my husband travels for work and so is out of town more than he is home. Typically he will be away for 3 weeks to a month and then home for anywhere from a few days to two weeks. Because of the nature of his job, he never knows more than a day or two in advance when he will be leaving or coming home.
First question, I'm not sure how to add the "3rd P" to my rule. When he is gone there is little I can do other than be available to receive his phone calls or chat with him online.
Second, I don't know how to keep my rule and schedule intact when he is home. Would it be more realistic, do you think, to have a completely different and more "open" schedule when he is home?
We are hoping he only has to work like this another year or two, but I have to figure out the best way to deal with it in the meantime.
Labels: 3rd P Partner
posted by Holly at 1:11 PM
2 Comments:
You are in a difficult situation, and I admire your ability to be thinking clearly when your husband is gone so often. May God bless you in these trying years.
I think that your availability to him via phone and online is tremendously important. He and you both need to be attentive to this, as it would be so easy to just 'live life without him' given your circumstances. Daily contact and long-distance intimacy is very important for you to focus on. Hear his deepest needs on the phone to maintain that personal bond.
Also though, remember too, that your spiritual unity is paramount as well. Your ongoing regular daily prayer for him and his needs heads the list as your top 3rd P priority.
Also, I think that a different schedule when he is home would be essential, since you also never know when he is going away. You would want maximum availability during this time, and a reduction of outside involvements, as far as is possible, when he is home. A focus on bare essentials regarding housework would be necessary to re-establish your relationship time, and also, the planning of special date nights and events together to strengthen your bond.
Even your prayer time could be more extensive when he is away, and then stick to a reasonable minimum when he is home - say, morning and evening prayer, a family prayer time, daily spiritual reading or meditation, and Mass if possible.
Thank you, Holly. Sounds like I knew the answer and just needed a little reassurance. :o) We are expecting another blessing within the next few weeks, and my rule has been coming along nicely. The children know their routines and it is such a relief to know that at least the basics can get done for a week without me. Thank you for your help and prayers!
Post a Comment
<< Home