My husband travels for work. This isn't new. This is the normal we built our relationship on. If anything he travels significantly less of the year now than we first met.
His cities aren't typically glamorous, they aren't places you want to go visit. They are middle-of-nowhere towns with plenty of space for large warehouses and good distribution centers or once industrial cities trying to figure out where they fit now. I have visited him at work 3 times. Once on the way back from Africa in Pittsburgh, once in Cleveland and once in LA (I'll admit that last one was a lot of fun). For the most part our work weeks are spent apart.
When we were first dating and even first married I would get really sad every time he left for work. It would take me about 48 hours to get back to normal and then he'd be home within 48 hours. Let me tell you this cycle is not sustainable. I struggled to sleep, my daily rhythm was thrown off by if he was here or not. I struggled to balance my life.
Now when he leaves I tell him good-bye and I miss him, but it's not sadness. I have come to grips with that this is his job. And he's lucky he likes what he does for a living. He gets his social needs met by his co-workers every week, people that have been consistent in his life for 4 years. I should be happy for him when he goes to work, not sad. This shift has also helped me sleep better. I go to bed the same time if he's home or away, it helps keep me stable. I keep my rhythm of life consistent. I live my life when he's away, I work on getting my social needs met by going out with friends here and talking with the ones I miss back in Minnesota. I am finding things I like doing that he doesn't and prioritizing those things during the week so I can prioritize us on the weekend.
Distance Sucks, I wont sugar coat it. but if you can balance your lives and prioritize each other during specific times it is possible. We certainly haven't had it any other way.
Signing off for now.
*C
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