Snowday

My daughter sounded off at 6:00am for me to get up, I swear she has the internally time clock of a Rooster. Shortly after my husband texted me that he was in the hotel and was going to sleep. Really not the communication I would like after not hearing from him for 14 hours. Oh well! He will call tonight.

The great news is it is a freaking snow day here and baby gymnastics has been cancelled. I’m kind of bummed but at least I don’t have to visit my in laws. Happy Dance!!! I’m not sure what we are going to do for the next 36 hours while my husband is away but we always find something.

The Cheating Railroader

My husband came in around 530am this morning and left at 1600 for 1630(5:30pm) planned train.  So with all this time away from home and living in a hotel for days many people want to know; does he cheat? Well, as of right now the answer is a definite no! I know this because he is always bringing up all the other cheating Railroad husbands. Now when he stops talking about these cheaters I’m going to be a little concerned.

So what stories of cheating Railroaders has he told me?

Numerous railroaders hit the strip club when they enjoy their hotel layover and usually bring the strippers back to the hotel.

A particular married, father of 4, engineer enjoys trying to pick up the front desk clerks.

Wife swapping has caused numerous divorces and remarriages throughout the railroad. By the way these people aren’t as good looking as you would expect.

Some Railroaders even keep a whole other family on the other side of the state.

Don’t forget the female employee that has slept with every coworker imaginable.

I’m particularly not intimidated by any of these stories because as a railroader’s wife and mother of his two children because I’m entitled to about $2000 a month in child support plus a 3^rd of his pension if he cheats and earns himself a divorce. I might feel different when I lose my looks but for now I double dog dare him to cheat!

Catching a Train home ( Well home for at least 12hours)

So my husband is currently working a 5 day layover job. This is generally how it works for those of you who have never experienced the Railroad lifestyle:

Work Day 1: Railroad calls at let’s say 13:25 or 1:25pm for work at 15:25(3:25pm) (there is a 2 hour call window) Work 10-15 no personal phone calls by penalty over something like a $17,000 fine. Tie up then go to hotel for a minimum of 12 hours rest but be prepared to hang out in the hotel for up to 26 hours in case there are no trains heading that way. (I personally hate this and it frustrates me to my core because it always happens at the worse times) I do get a phone call or text when he makes it to the hotel.

Work Day 2: Okay Railroad calls hotel room at 7:25 am the next morning my husband reports to work at 9:25am to a train home. He calls me lets me know asks about the baby and what I’ve been doing. He then goes to work for about 10-15 hours.  He arrives home about 22:15 or 10:15 pm; we have a 30 minute drive to his work. He barges through the door like a bull in a china shop and usually wakes up the baby. He sleeps for 12 hours then the Railroad calls at 8:15 beckoning him to work for 10:15 am.

Work Days 3 and 4 go pretty much the same as Workdays 1 and 2

Work Day 5: This is a turn day which means work 12 hours and then taxi home from wherever the train stops. (This can mean a 4 hour taxi ride)

48 hours rest. Repeat!!

So where are we in this schedule Day 2: He is coming home just got ordered for 16:30 or 4:30pm. So he will definitely be waking are daughter up when he gets home. Lucky me!

What have I done while he has been away?

Let’s see changed about 20 diapers, bathed the baby twice, grocery shopped, face booked, attended playgroup, changed the baby’s clothes about 10 times, fed baby, 5 loads of laundry, mailed bills, diffused a problem at our rental house, kept the fire going, ordered vitamins on line, vacuumed twice, cleaned up dog vomit, grocery shopped, took the garbage out, gathered firewood, feed the animals, watched some t.v., paid some bills, texted my sister, and tried to deal with the morning sickness I still have even though I’m 17 weeks pregnant.  SUPER!! Best part is my 1 year still can’t sleep through the night up at least once or twice. So as you can imagine I pass out on the couch with my mouth open at about 8:30pm every night. At least he is coming home !!!!

Why I started a Blog

Why did I start my blog? Well I’m BORED, lonely, and may possibly be going INSANE (joking); so why not write about it. I’m a 26 year old woman who is 17 weeks pregnant with my second child and the mommy of a super active 1 year old girl. I live in Michigan in the middle of NOWHERE on about 10 acres!! I’m a stay at home Mom and I really don’t want for much except the companionship of my husband. You guessed it I’m married to a Railroader. A 31 year old railroad Engineer to be exact; he is addicted to making and saving as much money as he can. I know this isn’t exactly a bad thing and his 6 figure income does have its perks but being married to a man who is away from home for about 100 hours a week really doesn’t.

What can you expect being married to a Railroader: (The following examples are just from my own personal experience)

·         Be prepared to spend all Holidays, social functions, ultrasound appointments, and birthdays alone.

·         Don’t expect much help with newborn care or infant care because the railroad is a sleep sensitive job.

·         No contact your husband while he is on the train due to Federal law unless you call the world’s most unreliable emergency number.

·         The phone will ring at all hours of the day and night since younger railroaders work on call.

·         Don’t expect your husband to have more than 24-48 hours off at a time (I mean hours)

·         Be prepared to basically be a single parent.

·         The chances of him being gone 48-72 at a time is very likely

·         Be prepared to answer difficult questions; Like where is your husband? Are you guys having problems because he is never around?

·         Handle all car problems, possible intruders, and be able to shoot whatever critter the dog has decided to try and kill this week.

·         Expect a strained relationship with your in-laws because he just doesn’t want to make time to visit them and they blame you.

·         There is no such thing as couples night or family vacations until he gets some good seniority.

·         There is no time for couple’s therapy.

·         Most of your complaints will be answered with; it’s my job, what do you want me to do?

So how do you deal with this kind of lifestyle?

My philosophy is put on your big Girl Pants and does it yourself!

I’m not complaining this is just my life. It has worked for the last 5 years hopefully it will survive 2 children and me quitting my career to be a stay at home mom. YIKES! Wow, I feel much better getting this off my chest.