Plans? What Plans?

For almost 23 years my husband has had a job, as an elevator mechanic, where he knows just week to week, and sometimes only day to day, where he will be working in Maine and/or New Hampshire. When he started working for this company, a good company to work for, our daughter was in kindergarten and our son was in nursery school. The next fall, when both children were in school, it became obvious that I would be the primary parent in all things child and school related. Ken's refrain became, "I will be there if I'm home."

The trade-off for a job he loves, and that provides for his family, is that Ken has little control over where he will be working on any given day. This is not a problem when he has specific plans in place for an appointment or vacation, but it's tricky when we try to think a few days ahead based on where he thinks he will be working that week. Ken is in regular contact with the office, where schedules are set for work that needs to be done and repairs that need to be made. There is always a conversation about how to move about the countryside in the most efficient way, as Ken goes from one job to the next. The schedule needs a certain amount of flexibility to accommodate repairs that need to be made with only a day or two of notice.

There is one person left out of the loop. Me. The funny thing is that after all these years I still think there's a chance we will be able to make and execute plans. Just a chance. Nothing for sure.

This week Ken was headed out of town Tuesday morning with plans to return Thursday night, when we talked about going to the local diner for dinner. He called yesterday to say he was coming home last night. Okay. He called later in the evening to ask if I wanted to meet him for dinner. No, I had already made plans for dinner, and I thought we were going out later in the week. Ken got home last night and we had dinner at 8:00, during which he tells me that now the plans are for him to work out of town through Friday....

The irony is that these changes in plans had less of an impact on my life when the kids were at home and I was working or taking classes. I had obligations and a routine. Now it's up to me to set my own schedule. At the beginning of the week I have an idea of what I need to do and want to get accomplished. I take into consideration when Ken will be home because there are things we like to do together, and there are things I like to do when I have the house to myself.

Like painting. With this most recent change in plans I have a block of time to paint interior doors. I've been putting it off because it requires the removal of doorknobs, taping of hinges, and washing of surfaces before I even get to the painting. There are seven doors, fourteen sides. Several hours of work.

But, hey, it turns out I have some time this week.