I have three small children, two with autism. My husband works long hours, has an hour commute each way, and has been working on his master’s degree for the past couple of years. I have pretty much been a single parent since then! We are definitely looking forward to the end of school early next year! One of the most helpful things other people have done for me is to take one, two, or all three of the children out for a few hours. I get a little bit of quiet at home and can get a few things accomplished. The kids enjoy the outing and are refreshed when they get home. It is greatly appreciated!
Dad Not Home?
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 9:01 AM
One of the areas in which our family is incredibly fortunate is my husband’s job.
He is well-compensated for work he finds both stimulating and enjoyable, his commute is a mere fifteen minutes, he has flexible hours, and he rarely has to work more than forty of them in a week.
I discovered recently that I have not been properly appreciating the last part of that deal.
Bryan’s team is working on a project that has a looming deadline, and he’s been putting in a huge number of hours on it: going in early, staying late, bringing work home. This is very much out of the ordinary for us. I’m trying to be upbeat about it because there’s nothing he can do to change the situation, and fortunately his deadline is next Wednesday so the end is in sight.
Still, I have to say: I am really not enjoying my husband having to work so much.
It occurs to me, though, that there are many people who have it much worse than we do. We’re blessed that Bryan doesn’t usually have to work overtime, that his commute is short, that we get plenty of time with him. Some husbands and fathers have no choice but to spend long hours away from their families in order to make ends meet.
I’m guessing that some of our readers here at Faith & Family Live! live with or have lived with situations where their husbands and partners-in-parenting had to be absent from the home on long-term or short-term bases. If you’ve been there, how do or did you deal with it? I’m sure I’m not the only one who could use some tips for handling this more gracefully.
And if anyone who is blessed as I usually am has come up with simple, small ways to offer loving support to another mom whose husband isn’t around as much, we’d love to hear those too!
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