Major Life Changes and Preschoolers

Long time readers will know Hubby has been trying to change careers for years now. He finally landed a job outside of education just last month. We're all pleased by this, but it has meant a major change for us.

You see, his job is half a state away. It hasn't been long since we bought our house, so we aren't willing to sell and move. This means he doesn't get to come home every evening as he did when he was just working at a school twenty-eight miles from our home.

We had our routine. The girls and I would cover lessons, clean, and then they'd nap while I either read, wrote, or more often, made something. Hubby would get home right about the time the girls would wake up. We'd have supper and spend the evening together before Hubby and I worked together to get the girls ready for bed. He was the reader of bedtime stories as he has been since Boo Bear was born. And then we'd tuck them in together.

Hubby reading to the girls.

It was this last bit the girls had the hardest time adjusting to. They were so used to waking after Hubby left for work that they didn't even notice the change until he wasn't home when it was time for supper, but they loved getting to talk to him via Face Time. However, they didn't sleep well at all that whole first week because it was me reading the bedtime story instead of their daddy. After a few days, they both became horribly whinny.

So, I cut out nap time in an attempt to wear them out enough to sleep soundly at night. The first week or so, this resulted in even more whining and an astonishing amount of hyperactivity from Boo Bear. (She's one of those children who experience an adrenaline surge when overtired.) But it seems to be helping now.

It's been a bit of a blow to Hubby though. Although both girls greet him enthusiastically when he returns, instead of the expected glee at having him read the bedtime book again, Sneak asked that I do it. He hid it from the girls, but his expression at hearing this was heartbreaking.

Four weeks in, we've begun to adjust to this change. It would help if we could get into a regular pattern as to which days Hubby will be working-from-home and which days he won't, but this isn't exactly a time of year you can expect a regular pattern to workweeks.