When you have been together for so long, time spent away by one spouse or the other can seem really weird for both. Rosanne is off on a business trip for the next few days and I am already feeling odd.
These days, I am not entirely alone, as. Joe is here on his summer vacation, but than make it even odder. It is up to me to deal with all his needs on my own. Now, I was a stay-at-home dad for several years after he was born, so taking care of him is infinitely easier these days. If course, now he has different needs — full meals, clean clothes and chauffeuring about to parties, friends and events. That said, as he grows older he becomes less of a child and more of a roommate. He has his games to play and YouTube to channels to watch, so he is much for self-sustaining, but I can also feel alone even with him here.
There is also a lot of home issues to resolve while Rosanne is away, but she is usually the one that deals with such things. They tend to stress me out, where she seems more able to deal. We have a squirrel in the attic we are trying to remove and discovered a gas leak in the line coming into the house. There will people here to fix both on Monday, so I will need to coordinate with them like a “real” homeowner. (Laugh)
You get very used to having someone around to commiserate, joke, laugh and generally share your life together. When that is removed, it throws off your rhythm. I find that I end up eating at odd hours, my sleeping schedule changes and I can also spend inordinate amounts of times working. Without the balance of the other side of the equation, things tend to wobble and fly apart — if just a little bit.
It can be even worse when I am the one traveling, too. Living out of hotels, being off my schedule and eating at restaurants feels really odd to me. I feel adrift and, unless I am kept very busy I can even fall into a bit of a funk. I always knew I would have never done well in a job that required lots of travel and what little business travel I have done seems to have proven it out.
Wish me luck in getting through the next 3 days. I’m sure I’ll survive, but I certainly won’t enjoy it. I really like being married and being without Rosanne makes me a Sad Panda. Hurry back, babe!
Previously on End of the Day:
- Noise and the absence of noise – End of the Day for June 6, 2014
- Sunsetting – End of the Day for June 5, 2014
- Summer is finally here! – End of the Day for June 4, 2014
- My Favorite Musicals – End of the Day for June 3, 2014
- Going without cable television — if not cable Internet – End of the Day for June 2, 2014
- Is anyone out there listening? – End of the Day for June 1, 2014
- End of the Day for May 2014
- End of the Day for April 2014
- End of the Day for March 2014
- End of the Day for February 2014
- End of the Day for January 2014