I am glad when he is gone

I am glad when Steve is gone...because it makes the homecoming that much more sweet.

As we all know, airline pilots bid their vacation schedules well in advance. For Steve, he bid his 2012 vacations in October 2011. Because one is not always able to plan that far in advance, Steve threw a couple weeks into his vacation bid for grins.  He got the week of January 22, so just last week. I wasn't able to get that week of work, so Steve was home for the entirety of his vacation.

Due to his vacation in January, his schedule was a bit off and he also got a big block of time off at the beginning of the month. All this time off means that Steve was home a lot, he only had two 4-day trips. I sure did like having him home: a warm body to sleep next to, him doing daycare drop off, a family dinner every night, a helper to take the trash to the curb.  I could go on...

But, I have to say that with him being home so much, things sort of got commonplace.  He was around.  Yes, it was nice, but there wasn't much excitement.  Things were just rolling along, same old same old, just even keel.  I am not complaining, I am just sayin'.

One thing that adds excitement is the anticipation of your pilot coming home from work.  Steve gets home today from a 4-day.  I feel like a giddy teenager waiting for a boy to call.  Excitement is in the air with anticipation of his arrival. I am tracking his flight in, and I will be sure to tune into ATC to see if I can hear him on the radios.

Now, one catch: I hope I am not playing things up so much in my mind that when he does get home I am let down.  You pilot wives knows how it can go, with late nights and early shows a pilot can be a cranky-ass when they get home.  They may be in a mood that you just want to smack out of them.  That is always a risk, but I like feeling this anticipation so I will keep with it. 

The weather here is beautiful today.  I have dinner already assembled, so I just need to pop it in the oven and make a salad.  The house is clean.  The kids will probably be in a good mood due to the nice weather.  Again, I am painting this picture...let's hope it is actually painted this way.

I have said it before, and I will say it again: absence makes the heart grow fonder.  I missed Steve a lot this last trip.  Due to wonky flight times and multiple time zones, we didn't really talk all that much so we have a bit to catch up on.  Since he was home so much in January, I really did get used to him being around, which made this trip harder on me. 

With the bad comes the good.  Sure, it stinks that Steve is gone a lot with his job.  But, boy can the homecomings be nice, which makes up for everything!  As much as a relationship can be strained due to distance, the distance can also make the relationship better - more exciting.  It probably isn't often that a marriage has these butterfly in your stomach feelings, but you surely do get them when you are married to a pilot. 

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