Project Life | Week 32

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sarah bagley | sunny side up project life 1

Bachelorettes.  That was us last week.

sarah bagley | sunny side up project life 2

Dan has had the worst travel luck.  Boyfriend said he would be home Friday afternoon.  But a bunch of delays later, he didn’t make it home until 9 p.m.

sarah bagley | sunny side up project life 3

Whomp, whomp.

sarah bagley | sunny side up project life 4

So, since we flew solo, I decided it would be a great idea to do a whole bunch of chores and errands.

sarah bagley | sunny side up project life 5

We got the car inspected, went to Costco, put a way a million loads of laundy, made stuff at art class, hosted playgroup.

sarah bagley | sunny side up project life 6

Here’s the thing about flying solo: it stinks at first, then you get used to it, and then when your partner gets back, you have to put that person back into your routine.  Only to have them leave again.

sarah bagley | sunny side up project life 7

That’s tough.

The more I do it, the better I am at filling our days, accepting there will be no breaks, and just doing the stuff that needs to be done.  I don’t wait for Dan to help.  I just do.

So that part is easier.  The anticipation of doing stuff is harder than the actual doing.

The hardest part for me is the loneliness.  Since Dan works from home, when he’s home, he’s home.  We’re all home.  Together.  For like, 20 hours a day.

But when he’s gone, he’s gone.

I go from together a lot to not together at all.  Rinse and repeat.

So, what’s a girl to do?  I try to schedule as much friend time and alone time as possible when Dan’s around.  And then try to work in some friend meet up while Dan’s gone, so I don’t go through togetherness to a complete depletion of adult communication.

For those of you who maybe work at home alone and spend long hours a day solo or other home alone moms (and dads), what do you do to prevent loneliness?

 

  • Kat M

    this is my life too – hubby working from home when in town and then he’s on the road. i actually spend most of that time at my parents as my dad babysits my 7-month hold while i work 3x per week, but when I was on maternity leave and the hubby traveled – I just found it important to have a schedule every day. not necessarily this activity at this time, but do these chores, meet up with this friend, go to that class… otherwise we were stuck at home and i was counting the seconds tick slowly by as I tried to figure out life with a newborn. friend meet ups were key – it kept me sane! and exercise too

    • http://www.sarahrosemary.com Sarah Bagley

      I am glad I’m not alone! I didn’t realize how lonely motherhood would be, but, man, it’s lonely! I miss the adult interaction when he’s gone. But, I suppose the silver lining is, I am getting better at being my myself. I’ll go to the movies alone, eat out alone, and all sorts of other stuff I’d never done before. It’s either that – or stay home and be miserable. Easy choice! Thanks for sharing!

  • http://lavieoverseas.com/ Natasha

    You do a great job managing it all! And I like that you don’t just gloss over everything and make it sounds 100% perfect. There are challenges. There are rewards. And you share them both.

    I’m actually worried about the at-home loneliness factor — both for when we move abroad (depending on my work situation) and, now that we aren’t leaving as soon as we had originally thought, starting in a couple weeks here in DC. I went from super-structured work life to super-structured student life. I thought I would still be busy with moving/adapting to a new life, but we’ll be in this period of limbo and I’m already worried about filling my time.

    • http://www.sarahrosemary.com Sarah Bagley

      Absolutely, I totally hear you about being overseas and being lonely. But you’ve made lots of efforts already to form friendships. And I’m glad you started your blog now, so we will already be in each other’s lives before you go. I think it will be tough at first, like most things, but you’ll find your groove and make friends. And like I told Kat, it gets easier to be alone. I never thought I’d go out to eat alone, but I do it all the time and don’t think a thing about it.

  • http://www.girlwithblog.com/ Anna R

    Yeah, I’m still trying to figure that out =) Most days go pretty fast as I’m trying to wrangle Sam and work at the same time, but on the days that drag, we load up the stroller and take off exploring. I’m still nervous taking him public places alone, but we’re working on it =)