My husband recently took a business trip for six days. The kids and I missed him but we sort of fell into a different routine of things than normal. We were like an orchestra that was suddenly missing an instrument. We stumbled around for a day or so but then, like good musicians would, we changed the beat a bit and fell back into a rhythm of sorts.
I noticed, at first when my husband returned, we were playing to the beat of different drummers if you will. I had to step back a bit and let my husband take on the responsibilities that he usually carries. It always takes me awhile to adjust to this. It's like that musician jumps back into the orchestra still playing to the same beat as when he left and the rest of the orchestra is playing something different. We all regrouped, of course, and started playing our beautiful Geer family melody but it took some adjusting for sure--perhaps on my part more than anyone.
There are some things that my husband and I do to stay on the same page when he travels that I think help make this adjustment period easier and quicker. One thing that I do is I text or email him pictures and updates about the kids and I throughout the day. Now, of course this isn't a constant stream of information to the point of being annoying--I only do that when I'm really trying to make a point--but I give him enough to still feel connected with our normal everyday life. Another thing we do is talk on the phone every evening if possible; even if it's just a quick, "I love you, good night." The most important thing that we do is that, despite playing different songs or variations for awhile, we follow the same conductor. We stay close to God even though our routine has been disrupted. When we come back together, it's easier to get back into sync because we are both looking at the same conductor patiently moving his arms to the beat of the song. This is not to say that we don't stumble around a bit at first during the song change of course but because we've stayed connected, we can look at the stumbling with a bit of humor rather than frustration.
I love my husband and I love that we can stay close even when he's far away. Kevin, I'm so glad to have you home. :)
