Family time

[jeteaa]

My dh might get a new job in which he will be traveling a few weeks/month then home for a "long weekend'. All in all, we will probably have the same amount of family time/month in hrs, but it will be me and the kids by ourselves for many days at a time. Currently he is home every evening by 6 and home on the weekends. I'm a sah hsing mom to our 2 dc, I'm fine w/ doing all the parenting for the times he is gone..... we'll just miss him! But it would be nice to have a long weekend together so we can do more local traveling, vacations etc. Am I being too optimistic about this change? Will it be more challenging than I anticipate with dh traveling for weeks at a time?

[Linda on the move]

I doubt that he'll want to travel when he gets back. He'll most likely want to be home. I also suspect that you'll need real breaks during the weeks.

When my kids were young and my DH traveled every week, I had a regular sitter every Wednesday so I get have a break for a few hours. It was a sanity saver.

I think you will find it challanging, but that doesn't mean that you can't do it.

[Alyantavid]

I agree with the pp.

When dh worked away from home, I only had 1 child who was 18 months, but it was draining to be the sole parent. Dh was gone all week, home Saturday evening and then gone again Sunday evening. We seriously never went anywhere when he was actually home.

I wouldn't plan on traveling every weekend he's home. And I'd definitely make sure you have a way to get some time to yourself.

[mbhf]

I don't think you are being too optomistic about the change. There's absolutely nothing wrong with going into this with a great attitude. I think you will find that you and the kids sort of fall into your own rhythm while your dh is gone and it can be a really enjoyable empowering experience. Your dh may or may not be up to traveling when he is home but you can certainly travel and do lots of fun family stuff with just the kids, especially since you're homeschooling. That kind of thing is much easier when your dh is gone (as opposed to when he is home but not going with you, I mean) because you don't have to worry about being home at 6 to see him or missing him because you're staying overnight somewhere and he's at home. When I'm out of town while my dh is home it's miserable, I miss him and just want to cut my trip short (and usually do!) to get home to see him but when he's not here I can just load the kids in the car and drive to see family or wherever for as long as I want. It doesn't sound like you're worried about getting time to yourself while your dh is home, so I wouldn't start now. If you find you need it, you can always change your plans so you get it, but not everyone does. Good luck on your new adventure!