The tough times of an Oilfield Wife and Mom.

The oilfield life is something that you can never get used to. It never gets easier or any less lonely. The following are some of the toughest things that I’ve had to go through as an oilfield wife and mom.

1. Raising my newborn on my own for three entire months. Hubby left when she was 1 month old and returned when she was 4 months old.

2. Feeling lonely. I’m alone and only have my (now) 11 month old to talk to most of the times.

3. Feeling overwhelmed. It can get to ‘super mom status’ pretty often around here. It’s challenging to do it all on my own.

4. Feeling hopeless. Sometimes I feel like there’s no light at the end of this tunnel and I pray every day that it will get better in time.

5. Seeing my hubby walk out the door… Again. It never gets easier and we are never sure when he will be back.

6. Getting only an email a day, or not hearing from him at all. It’s so tough when the location doesn’t have proper internet or cellphones are not allowed.

7. Explaining to my daughter why Dada isn’t there for weeks. I know this will only get more difficult as she gets older and can understand better… Or hopefully it will get easier?

8. Functioning as both mommy and daddy and doing double the parenting.

9. Living everyday not knowing. When he’s at home, we don’t know when he’ll leave and when he’s not at home, we don’t know when he’ll be back. He’s on call 24/7 so one night he’s here, and the next night he can be halfway across the world.

10. Inability to have any set routine or normalcy just because everything revolves around an extremely uncertain schedule.

11. Watching an empty space and pillow as I climb into bed at night.

12. Knowing that he misses out on important, celebration-worthy events like first steps, birthdays and cricket matches. 😉

13. Having to make important decisions on my own… Like turning down a job recently that he didn’t even know I had an interview for or handling serious financial choices without even being able to contact him.

What are some of the toughest situations that you’ve had to deal with on your own? Don’t you just feel like we should just put a cape on our backs already?!

10 things to help pass time until your hubby is home from a work trip.

The oilfield life is always full of disappointments and no matter how long you’ve been a part of it, it never gets any easier. My hubby, who was supposed to be at home last night, emailed at the very last minute to say that he won’t be home for another few days and although it means my now Martha-approved (see my Martha mission here) home would stay clean a little longer, hearing those dreaded words always gets the better of me. Frustrated and lonely, I try to occupy myself so that time would pass quickly.

Here are 10 things to do that makes time fly until your hubby is back home from a work trip:

1. Enjoy your alone time with your kids. Cherish this opportunity.

2. Let out your feelings. Write them down. Talk to your friends. Cry. Cook. Do what makes YOU feel better.

3. Clean. Time passes and you have a clean home. Win Win.

4. Get out of the house. Do anything that will get you out of sweats or yoga pants.

5. Exercise. It’s a good way to vent and feel better about yourself. Plus, I’m sure your man wouldn’t mind that rocking body of yours when he’s back! *Wink*

6. Watch movies. Bring out the chick flicks and tissues. Get in touch with your inner woman.

7. Drink wine. It will help you sleep better at night!

8. Keep in touch with each other. Emails, skype, telephone calls; it makes the ordeal easier.

9. Take care of yourself. Spend time styling your hair or getting a mani/pedi.

10. Ask for help. Realize that you cannot do it ALL on your own. Ask your parents to assist in any way that they could or don’t turn down their offers to help.