It was only for one night.
A retreat at work required an overnight stay, so my husband wouldn’t be coming home. Simple enough. Several years ago, we lived apart for five months during a move between states. Surely one night would be nothing.
But I missed him by early afternoon; when he called around suppertime, I told him so.
You see, one of my favorite parts of every day is nighttime. The house is quiet; our girls are in bed, chores are done, and we sit together on the couch – working on our laptops, reading a book or watching a ballgame. We’ll talk if something comes to us – or not. Either way, it’s just being with him, having him there, that comforts me.
Yes, I survived the night just fine. I borrowed some of my daughter’s Bible verses to help me fall asleep alone. I know there are wives everywhere whose husbands are gone for weeks – even months – at a time. So tonight, when we climb into bed, I will make sure to be thankful that I have him beside me.
This post is linked to Gratituesday and Tuesdays Unwrapped.
I know exactly what you mean! I can count on one hand how many times we've been apart since our marriage. It is such an unnatural feeling for me. I feel incomplete, or just off. My husband is my best friend, and we love spending time together. I have friends who say there time apart due to work travel "Makes for a good marriage". That's just sad to me.
Thanks for sharing!
Beautiful Tracey! My husband is away on business as I type this! I agree completely that we need to not take a single moment for granted! 🙂
I do take for granted that this big guy is next to me both nights…thanks for this post!
love this reminder…i so miss him when he is away…but unfortunately we aren't together enough…just being together after kids are down–I needed this reminder today:):):)
We do the same thing in the evenings – spending our evenings sitting together doing things together or separately, talking or not talking, while the children sleep. I love that peaceful "connected" companionship with my husband and I always miss it if he works late or something keeps us apart. We've only spent one night apart since we married (when I was in hospital for sleep studies), and I pray it stays that way; it was the loneliest night of my life! The only way I got through it was by remembering that the temporary distance would make the reunion even more beautiful and it helped me to not take our time together for granted. When my husband has to work late and I'm alone of an evening, I feel like a huge part of me is missing… I can totally relate to what you wrote. And what a blessing to live in a world with such ease of communication – can you imagine in times past when communication (eg. phone/internet etc) was unavailable?! And in those times, husbands were often away more, too! Technology can be such a blessing.
I have missed reading your posts! What a wonderful read and filled with lots of love 🙂 My husband is away once a week and that night is a long evening, and I find it hard to sleep without him next to me as well!
Yes, yes…I feel this post! You speak from the heart and do it so well. <3