The pros and cons of being an engineer’s “site” support team (aka spouse)
I’m an engineer’s wife, which means I’m often home alone while hubby is away working on site. There are upsides and downsides to flying solo, so which do I prefer?
Cons
Support duties (aka chores)
I’ve had lots of experience when it comes to keeping the wheels turning at home when my husband is away: water the lawn, keep the plants alive, take out the trash – the list goes on (and it would be significantly longer if we still had kids living at home, so I should probably count my lucky stars). I have even, on occasion, mowed the lawn AND washed my car!
Failing at support duties (aka watching MasterChef instead)
If you chat to hubby, he would probably tell you that the garden is not in such good shape every time he returns home. Some plants almost need to go onto life support after weeks in my care (who has time to water the plants when MasterChef is on?).
Loneliness (aka no coffee in bed or shed)
The biggest negative is that you miss the one you love – the one who makes you feel safe and protected and brings you a cup of coffee in bed on a Saturday morning. Although life can be rosy during the week when hubby is not home, weekends can drag out and be pretty boring sometimes. I even miss my frequent visits to the shed with a cup of coffee just to make sure he knows that I’m still alive – I made peace long ago with the fact that there will always be a list of weekend projects that need completion and/or fixing.
Pros
Independent living (aka FREEDOM!)
Nobody to cook for. No one to judge you if you only have biscuits, toast or chocolate for dinner. Who would know that you only quickly did the housework an hour before hubby returned home from site?
Remote-control control (aka no boring shows)
There’s absolutely no one to tell me that everything I watch on TV is a waste of time. Who would know that the TV is permanently on MasterChef, The Block or The Bachelor, and not on National Geographic, Great Machines or History of War ?
Conclusion
All in all, life is not too bad when you are married to an engineer. And I’d be lying if I said that the extra spending money from an extended site project doesn’t come in handy.
Although the alone time can be a good thing, the cons of him being away on site definitely outweigh the pros. Let’s face it: when he’s home, things magically get fixed, the garden flourishes and the car is always spotless. Gotta love an engineer!