We knew that the travel aspect of it was going to be the very hardest part of this whole ordeal. I don't think we actually knew how much travel it would end up being when we signed up for this, but we couldn't really back out-- nor did we want to. It turns out that he's traveling every other week (sometimes 2 weeks in a row) for the first couple months, and then every week for the few months after that.
It's hard for all of us. It's hard knowing he's going to leave. It's hard when he's gone. It's hard for Paige when she's awake every single day, wandering the house asking where Dad is. It's hard for me to do meals, laundry, playtime, nap time, bath time, and bedtime all by myself. It's hard for Jeff when he can't be home where he's comfortable, play with Paige, or scratch my back while watching Community. It's hard having too much alone time. I'm sure that sounds silly, but it's true. It's lonely. And there's only so many books to read, Netflix to watch, baths to take, and treats to make. But you can't have anything good without sacrifices, right? That's what we keep reminding ourselves. We put on brave, optimistic faces & go about our days one hour at a time. When we miss each other, we text/call. When something funny happens, we tell each other. When Paige does something adorable, I take a photo/video and send it. When I want Jeff to experience the same pain I do when Paige throws a tantrum, I take a video of her screaming and send it right on. Jeff sends me pictures of all the cities he stays in & fun buildings & views. When it's Paige's bedtime, we FaceTime and Paige babbles about her day & shows Jeff all her new dance moves. We make it work & it's good.
When Jeff comes home on weekends, it's nonstop family time. We work together to finish the basement. I refinish furniture & plan out furnishing rooms. We read books, watch movies, play games, and eat eat eat. I think that the time spent away really makes us realize how important family is. You know it before, but distance makes the heart grow fonder, right? When Jeff's not on trips, he's working from home, which is actually the best thing ever. He's not working constantly, so he can come out & have lunch with us or take a quick break to read a book to Paige. He can stay home with Paige during her nap time so I can go grocery shopping in peace.(reading labels! calculating prices! standing in line without crying/grabbing for snacks! pushing the cart by myself at my own speed! it's heaven!!)
We're very happy- and I've started crying much less when he leaves. Every night before I fall asleep, I count how many days I have left until he comes home. How many breakfasts, how many nap times, how many potential food painting messes I'll need to clean up ;), and how many fights for bedtime we have left. It helps so much! Going from 5 breakfasts to 4 might not seem like a lot, but it is. It means it's a win for me-- I made it through one day & that means there's only 4 left to go!
