Role Reversal at the Airport

It’s Monday morning. I’m awake early, packing the last of my bag and getting ready to fly out for the week. A quick cup of coffee with my husband, a kiss goodbye with a promise to call when I land, and I’m out the door.

Wait … it’s not me this morning heading to the airport, it’s my husband. And I’m staying home!

Oh, this is weird.

While my husband also travels a lot, he usually flies out later in the week and we’ll both be gone from home. I’ve held the Monday morning departure time in our house for years. And rarely am I ever home for a full week.

So I dropped him at the airport this morning, shared a kiss goodbye and he promised to call when he lands. I drove home and came into a very quiet house. I got a pot of coffee brewing and then looked around and said “Now what?”

An entire week at home. Doing dishes and laundry vs. having maid service. Standing at the kitchen counter to eat instead of going out for client dinners. Dressing Florida-casual instead of business casual. Having my laptop on the lanai poolside vs. sitting in conference rooms. Ah … now this I’m gonna love!

So while my husband is off at the Consumer Electronic Show this week in Vegas, I’ll be getting to know what it’s like to be waiting for a call in the evenings when he gets back to his hotel room. I’ll share what I got accomplished at home during the day and tell him the dog is doing fine. And I’ll be asking later in the week “What time does your flight arrive home, dear?”

Yes, this is very weird.