Because I would love for this to become a platform for other Mom's and wives living abroad as a result of their partner's deployment or delegation, I want to write a little bit about what "really" happens over here. Sure, we have amazing weekends, and lots of fun trips, but the reality is that there are lots of late nights, followed by extremely early mornings, and if you don't develop a circle of friends quickly, being the non-employed partner can be very, very trying.
I don't necessarily want to "air dirty laundry", but I think the only way to reach out to other expat moms is to tell it like it is. I hope to get a comment or email from someone saying, "I know exactly how you feel!". And so on that note, let me share the events of last night with you.
Tobi had a business dinner. Granted, he expressed his disappointment to me that the customer had specifically stated that spouses were not invited (especially since their spouses DID attend!), but the idea of him leaving the house before 8 AM, and not coming back until well after dinner, didn't exactly appeal to me. And yet I knew it was important, so I sucked it up. I made plans for a fun night for the baby and I, complete with the movie Happy Feet, sushi that I bought for myself, and some really yummy ice cream to be eaten during the movie. (Let me mention here that I also bought ice cream for Tobi, secretly hoping that he would be back early enough to join us for desert.)
Anyhoo, around 7:30 Lukas came down with a fever, but I decided to just keep a close eye on it. We watched the movie (which was really great, by the way!) and the baby dozed off on the couch. A couple hours later, when he woke up, I could tell it was time to take him to bed. Unfortunately, I also had to let Felix outside, and I wanted to take the baby's temperature before putting him down. 11 PM came around, and there was still no sign of Tobi. A woman in town recently lost her husband in a car accident, so when I called his cell and there was no answer, I was a bit nervous. Fortunately, he answered my second call, and said he would be home after he finished up his drink.
I don't want to ramble on much longer, especially since I met a woman today whose husband is gone for a couple weeks of each month, and another who only sees her husband on weekends (and her son is Lukas' age)! My point with all of this is, although being an expat can sometimes be very lonely, we have the Internet now... so we can share experiences and support eachother online. I hope this one helped you a little! Are you in the same boat? If so, I'd love to hear about it! :-)
~Liz
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