When my husband travels, it’s hard on the entire family. Although I usually enjoy the first day or two of easy dinners and a pile of magazines as my bed
companion, the novelty wears off, and we all want daddy back. He used to travel a lot!! I remember having a newborn, and my husband was out of the country for 3 weeks. I felt physically exhausted and assumed he should return refreshed from his “time away”. I acted like his business travel was a mini vacation. I could not have been further from the truth.
When he would return home, he would cling to me. The look in his eyes said it all. The travel schedule was rushed. The hotel room was lonely. The airplanes delayed. The meals quiet. His heart longing for the chaos of our home and warmth of our love. It was at this point, I made an intentional decision to start sending a little of that warmth with him. Here are a few ideas and ways to make your husband remember he’s loved on the road.
- Get him a voice activated Alarm Clock – Record a sweet message that he will hear when he wakes up. “Good morning sweetheart. Time to wake up. Have a great day!” My kids would record messages “I love you daddy”. Could you imagine a better way to wake up in a lonely hotel room?
- Text him pictures of you and the children at fun activities. We were at a Fall festival in this picture and took 5 minutes to write daddy a note and text it to him. He loved knowing that even admist cotton candy and music, we were thinking of him.
- When he calls, DON’T COMPLAIN! I’m not suggesting to pretend everything is perfect, but you can discuss things without whining, nagging, or feeling entitled to a different set of circumstances. If you need to vent when he’s away, call a girlfriend, write in a journal, pray, go for a run.
- Call the hotel and order him room service (even just a beer is fun).
- Make him laugh… or cry- Hide ridiculous things in his shoes or dobskit. Be funny. Make him miss you. Humor is extremely underrated. You can also write encouraging notes, the ones that communicate your respect and appreciation for him. My son has even hidden his very special lovely in the suitcase – if that doesn’t say ‘i love you’, nothing will.
- Enter ‘reminders’ or ‘alerts’ into his phone that will pop up throughout his trip.
- Comfort food – Stick in some of his favorite power bars or his favorite candy. You can even wrap them for an element of surprise.
- Hide a pair of your panties between his boxers – No judgement..
- Download a romantic but cool song or playlist onto his phone. Halfway through the trip, tell him about it.
- Facetime or Skype – Technology has made eye to eye contact possible. Little kids can actually believe they were with daddy….and I, sometimes just need to see my man.
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When I was younger, I was a Daddy’s little girl. My father was my hero and I knew I was his princess. He could do no wrong and I’m certain he felt the same towards me. He knew all of my imperfections yet his love covered over them all. To him, I was perfect. Still am.
