Separate Lives

Lately I've been thinking a lot about how drastically different my life is compared to that of my husband. He works late and is gone a lot. Which means I work late and single-parent a lot. Our work involves very separate things. And though we live under the same roof, we spend very little time together under that roof.

Mark's job involves the next big thing in the tech industry.
My job involves the next big thing in Gavin's diaper.

Mark accumulates sky miles.
I accumulate high piles...of laundry.

A couple weeks ago Mark had a chance encounter with Snoop Dogg.
A couple weeks ago I checked out the children's book Stray Dog.

For Mark, there is always another meeting, presentation, or conference call.
For me, there is always another feeding, play date, or trip to the mall.

Mark gets to buy the iPad, Kindle or other techy things for "research purposes".
I get to buy diapers, groceries or cleaning supplies for "household purposes".

Mark is always connected to his computer or phone.
I am mostly disconnected while I stay at home.

You get the picture. I guess I am just surprised by what little interaction (especially one-on-one) we have at this stage in our lives. I once heard a woman--mother of four whose husband traveled a lot--say that she made lists throughout the day of things she wanted to discuss with her husband. When he'd call to check in or return home from a business trip she'd go down the list and talk with him. At the time I thought, "How sad that she and her husband can't have a regular conversation without pulling out her paper and pen."

Then the other day I was going through stacks of papers, organizing things, and trying to make plans. And I realized there were a lot of things I needed to discuss with Mark. Calendar items...long-term goals...just plain "guess what the kids did today" talk. And the thought occurred to me to make a list. Yikes! Has it really come to this? Yes. Yes it has.

But if it's any consolation...at least we're both focused on the future. We're working hard to create successful products/children someday.