God Said “Let There Be Light” He Forgot About Naps…
Friends sometimes ask me what it’s like to be a pilot’s wife…
Well, there are many aspects to what it ‘is’ like (though there are few parts I actually can say I ‘do’ like). Here is one issue:
Secret Number 1ish of a Pilot’s Wife - You need to forget all about circadian rhythm.
When you are tired, he is not and when you are awake, he is likely not that either.
Yes that’s right. You may as well be married to a hamster, or a vampire.
Challenges that arise:-
He forgets that I do not get to have the pleasure of having a mandatorily scheduled ‘nap’ between split shifts. I don’t even get split shifts – relevance explained in next point:
He forgets sometimes that my boss has me on call 24/7. I get no SDO’s (scheduled days off), and would kill to sometimes just be the person ‘on reserve’ only having to work just incase someone ELSE doesn’t show up.
He forgets that while he is out workin’ for the man and the almighty buck, I work for the almighty toddler. She is 2 and she is a s l a v e d r i v e r – Don’t mess with her when she wants pink blankie or sippy cup. It will result only a loss of sleep. Note to my pilot: Toddlers do not come with those little ‘do not disturb signs’ just like hotel rooms do, again the relevance of this issue is covered in next point:
He forgets that I may have been up all night. I would also love it if my duty times were regulated. As an example I would like to see only 2 minutes per day on poopie bums– and no working while fatigued.
I forget that his day off is his day off. Yes maybe while I did dishes, cleaned messes, wiped bums, fetched snacks, he sat in a hotel all day yesterday with nothing to do but watch “The Tyra Banks Show” and have a long leisure poo - but he wasn’t at HOME. He didn’t have access to his things (THINGS that make his home his own: PS3, the big screen and his ‘funbags’… yes, those are my breasts, he always knew how to make me feel like a classy lady).
I forget he may want to nap because he legitimately needs to recover from or prepare for work, and not because God likes him better than me. (But seriously God, I could use a nap…).
I forget that when he comes home and jumps into bed butt naked it doesn’t always mean he wants to have sex. It could just mean he wants to be naked - in a bed, that he believes beyond a reasonable doubt his co worker hasn’t also been in while naked.
So there. That is one secret to being a successful partner to a pilot - Forget Circadian Rhythm… Let there be some empathy for your hamster-vampire.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
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I remember the first time my husband packed my bag and dropped me off at a hotel. At first, I was mad ("Are you trying to get rid of me?!"). I had been angry, tired, and resentful. Once I had that room to myself, I didn't want to leave. It's not in our budget anymore, but he's learned I need to clock out, too.
ReplyDeleteI just stumbled across your blog. As a pilot's wife, I must say.... this was quite humorous to read. Thank you :)
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