My husband leaving is a constant cycle. He doesn’t leave for good, just for now. In the middle of the night, he kisses all four of us on our foreheads trying to not wake us before getting in his truck to drive to the heliport for work. When we wake up in the morning, he is on a helicopter and we all start the next hitch.
Being an oilfield wife is the toughest of all my labels. When he leaves I become both mom and dad. I’m a maid, cook, tutor, nurse, disciplinarian, chauffeur… you get the picture. It all falls on me. I’m left to hold down the fort on my own.
My free time is usually spent worrying about his safety. Especially since he was emergency evacuated from a platform that caught fire a few years ago. Along with the fact that he hangs over the water from a rope. Talk about high anxiety.
The oilfield life has taught us a lot. It’s taught us independence. It’s taught us to not take his silence during our nightly calls personally, he’s either exhausted or someone is around. We’ve learned to embrace the time he is home for. Because when he is home, we don’t have to share him with work.
I’ve learned to look at this life we live as a blessing. He works so hard to support his family so that I am able to stay home with our kids.
We’ve ALL had to learn patience. That’s for sure.
We have to sometimes do birthdays, holidays, first days of school, doctor visits, and family dinners over FaceTime.
This life is hard on all of us.
People tell me “I don’t know how you do it.” And trust me, there are days where I don’t know how I do either, but I push through. I push through because this is the life WE chose.
This life is far from easy but we make it through together. Because life is a hitch, and we’re just enjoying the ride.
