From the day my parents met, they never spent more than 24 consecutive hours away from each other. Sometimes if my mom was driving home late at night and my dad realized it was getting close to a full day since he’d seen her, he would drive to meet her halfway on the road to make it in time. It started out as just young love, and then became a commitment they made to each other. That is, until my dad got stuck in an airport with me in Denver on a volleyball trip when I was about 16. I remember him calling my mom to break the news to her that he wouldn’t be making it home in time, and I’m sure there were tears involved. That’s like 18-ish years of being with each other virtually every minute of every day. It’s unheard of now, and it was pretty amazing even back then.
Orlando and I could not have a more different relationship. When we were just dating in college we grew accustomed to my volleyball season in the fall where I’d be gone every other week, and then his basketball season in the winter/spring taking him away while I was on campus more. When we got engaged, he literally left the day after he proposed to start his first year of playing professionally and I didn’t see him again until almost six months later during my Christmas break. We spent the ten months or so of our engagement away from each other for about eight of them. Of course it wasn’t ideal, but it was unavoidable and we made it work. To this day he still travels a ton during his basketball seasons. He’s home one week, on a road trip the next. Some months he’s on a bus, in a hotel, on a plane more than he is with his family.
The fact of the matter is, we’re apart a lot. Plenty of couples are in this day and age. My sister married a football coach and she’s dealing with the same crazy schedules I am. The same late night phone calls that change your family’s plans for the next day because duty calls. It’s bittersweet because you love seeing the man you love feeling passionate about what he does. Inevitably, though, there’s that part of you that craves a “normal” life, and seeing each other every single day like my parents did when they were young.
But yesterday I dropped Orlando off at the airport for the gazillionth time. And for the gazillionth time, I cried. Cora asked me what was wrong, and I tearfully explained that Mommy just misses Daddy. I still do, even after all these years. I know he has to go. And I know we will be plenty busy on our own. But my heart will always be a little heavy until we’re together again.
XO,
A
