The Schedule.

I have a love-hate relationship with Mike's schedule, as I'm sure most police wives/families do.  It is inconsistent, and changes every three weeks.  There's really no rhyme or reason to when days off fall--sometimes it's after working only 4 days, sometimes it's after working 8 days or more.  He usually gets a weekend off a month, and if we're lucky, two weekends off a month (that's a rarity).  He switches back and forth every three weeks from working 7am - 3pm, and 3pm - 11pm, so we get settled into a routine, and BAM!  Schedule switch.  Like I said, love-hate relationship.

I do love the fact that when he's on evenings (3pm - 11pm) he gets to spend all morning and part of the afternoon with Patrick while I'm at work--way jealous.  Getting Patrick up in the morning is one of my favorite things to do, and I only get to do it on weekends or when I'm off.  But I hate when he's on evenings too, because I literally never see him--he's sleeping when I leave for work at 7am, and by the time I get home at 4pm he's already gone.  We catch up on these days mostly via texts and the occasional phone call that either of us can try and squeeze in during work.  And I'm a single parent these nights because he's at work.

I also love the fact that when he's on days (7am - 3pm) we get him in the evenings for dinner, bath time, and bed time.  This is sooooooo nice because there's two of us to wrangle Hurricane Patrick's antics and IF he goes #2 in the tub (like he did last night...while I was alone...) there's two of us there to clean it up and manage Patrick.  But I hate when he's on days because both of us are working all day long and we have to find someone to watch Patrick (which isn't hard, because our awesome family is there for us and, most of the time, demanding to watch him!) and we both miss out on the mornings and afternoons with our little guy.

So yeah, love-hate relationship with his schedule.  And I'm not complaining--okay, maybe I am--but I don't mean to be.  I'm more so commenting on the fact that our family operates on a shift work schedule, and like it or not, we have to make do and accept that is the way it's going to be.  Therefore, I've taken to el blog to comment a wittle bit about my feelings about his schedule (and worries with it too, for when #2 comes) and the life of a police officer's wife and family and the schedule we get to deal with.

Everything I said above is his ideal schedule: three week shifts, mornings to evenings.  However, I left out the fact that very very often my CSI-of-a-husband gets caught up on a big case and doesn't get off at 11pm, but instead gets off at 5am, and then is suppose to somehow wind down from work, go to sleep, and wake up 4 hours later (if he can fall asleep instantly at 5am--haha, yeah right.) when Patrick wakes up.  Sometimes on these days we have to make some last-minute changes and I instead get Patrick up and take him to my mom's or Mike's dad's so Mike can sleep before he's got to go to work again in 10 hours.  Although he loves sleep, Mike does hate this too because that takes away his Patrick time, and he goes another full day without seeing him.  When #2 comes this spring, I'm not quite sure how we'll manage the deviations to his schedule--aka the overtimes, the late-night major cases, or the major incidents that will throw a ratchet into our plans.  I am a very organized and thought-out person, but with a police schedule operating as my other half, it has taught me over the past several years to be flexible, open, and even MORE flexible to the hiccups that will be thrown at us.  So yeah, sometimes, it just sucks.

What's really going to suck is that when this Ferguson grand jury stuff is released Mike will be on permanent 12-hour shifts, with no rec days or holidays (aka days off).  So, that's going to be oodles of fun.  I'm anticipating that this type of schedule will last the remainder of November, so I'm preparing myself to not see Mike until December.

As much as I love-hate his schedule, we've developed a routine and organization for how it work...now.  Even when hiccups come up, we've got a plan.  Now, I'm not going to pretend that I'm a little mildly freaked out come April as to what we're going to do with TWO kids and Mike's crazy schedule.  Meaning, I have no fear that we are ready to have two kids and can most definitely handle it, I am though scared about how it's going to play out when I'm flyin' solo while Mike is at/stuck at work.  THANKFULLY we have a ton of family--and super close--who I know will help out.  Especially in those first few months, if any of you are reading this, you will be getting a'many calls and requests for help.  So, yeah, I think it's probably more of the fear of the unknown--that I can anticipate what having 2 under 2 is going to be like, and try and imagine what it'll be like when Mike's stuck at work, but since I have never experienced it, I have no idea.  I guess only time will tell!  Now that I think of it, I think I remember feeling this kind of anxiousness pre-Patrick about how I'd do it by myself when he was working crazy hours that you normally have your significant other around--and you know what?!  We managed.  So, despite Mike's absolutely crazy schedule, I know when #2 comes we'll manage and make do and everything will be completely fine and work out...cause doesn't it always?!  Thanks for reading my rambling, venting, fearful, a'many words about Mike's schedule.  I do feel better, as I usually do, now that it's down in words.  Ahhh, thank you blog world :)

Popular Posts