My Favorite Question.....

When people hear of Butcher's work schedule, most ask 'How do you do it? I could never be away from my spouse that long!"

The answer is simple. We do it, because we can.

Not every family is cut out for this lifestyle. There are ups and downs to it. Things always seem to break when Butch is on the boat. Band concerts, performances and special church activities always seem to fall on his "on" week. And Christmas? Yeah....see my post entitled "Schedules" for more on that.

The "ups" include things like more family time, a predictable schedule even YEARS in advance, and the fact that Butch loves his job. It pays well and he loves the water and the unpredictability daily activities of tug boat life. He has a great crew of people to work with.

But in all reality, it's relatively easy to live like we do. I was a US Navy wife for 10 years, with numerous deployments and West Pacs under my belt. Those were some hard days! I think about our military friends who live apart from their spouse for a year or long, when on unaccompanied tours or serving in Afghanistan. I think of the families of Longshoremen who go off for months into the dangerous waters of Alaska to fish. Quite simply, a week apart isn't that long in perspective.

The other thing is, WE GET ALONG GREAT! We usually joke that we never fight because we aren't together enough to do it! The truth is, we are together just long enough to start getting on each others nerves, and then it's time for him to leave. Then he's gone long enough that we start to miss each other, and then he comes home. We joke that the secret to a happy marriage is to only spend 6 months out of the year together. Truth be told, I think we appreciate each other more and spend more quality time together by living this life.

Being a tugboat family isn't always easy, but it's our life and we are happy with it! :)