It is those damn expectations, they get me every time.
Part of how I have kept myself sane being an oilfield wife is adjusting my expectations. I had to learn early on that things change in the oilfield quickly. There is nothing like planning on spending time with my husband and counting down the days until he is home, only to learn that he won’t be home when anticipated. Tears come next. I have found that the more I prepare and expect for changes to occur, the better I roll with it. I thought I had come to expect the unexpected as an oilfield wife, but they got me again. Just when I think I have it down, things change.
I anticipated Oilman to come home from work at some point this year as we monitored the project he was working on and watched the number of wells still needing completion dwindle. When we got to the last well, we thought we knew what was coming and we were right. I planned on him being home for months. We thought through all of the fun stuff we could do together this fall. I imagined he would be back working around February. Just over three weeks into him being home and taking a well-needed break, he got a call for work and we jumped on it. Three days later he was gone and back to the grind.
The loneliness hit me in the face like a ton of bricks. Those damn expectations had got me again. I hadn’t expected him to find work so soon. I hadn’t expected how much I would miss him after being together for almost a month. Then I felt guilty. Guilty on why I couldn’t appreciate him being back to work so quickly in this current climate. I was so incredibly grateful for the work opportunity, but struggling with it at the same time. I’m back in the groove now, but it definitely took me some time.
Oilman is back to work and closer to home this time, which is really nice. He is not on a schedule, which is different for me. We’ve done it before, but it has been a few years. He works until the well is completed and then moves on to the next one once it is ready. He has been working all of October and I’m not sure when he will be home.
This whole thing is the perfect example of not being able to predict what happens next. None of this is in my nature and I’m not a go-with-the-flow kind of gal. I make lists, spreadsheets, and plan. I guess all of these experiences help make me a more well-rounded person or something. Who knows what will happen next. Rest assured that I will try to anticipate what is around the bend and prepare myself accordingly, only to be wrong. Damn you expectations!!
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