Thanksgiving of a Coach’s Wife

My husband and I are ending our night with a slice of pumpkin pie.

Today has been hard for me. This is my first thanksgiving AWAY from my family (mom, siblings, cousins etc), but my first Thanksgiving WITH my husband – a bittersweet combination.

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I have always traveled to go see my family, and my husband has always stayed behind to travel/work. This year, he worked in Cancun. Thankfully, families were able to travel with their spouse. I decided to go and spend my thanksgiving break with him, though it was technically not with him, since he worked majority of the time. However, the thought of at least sleeping next to him, sold me…and not to mention the warm weather and beach.
 
Once we arrived back from our trip, I suddenly felt the lows that comes with being a coach’s wife. He immediately returned back to work. Me, on the other hand, went home alone. I instantly felt a rush of sadness. Reality hit me. This is what it has been every year for him. Alone. Working. This is how I felt. I facetimed my family to keep my spirit high, and because I miss them dearly. They were all happy, the dining room filled with laughter and screams. Their voices helped me smile. Though I shed a few tears, they were tears of joy (I think).

After facetiming my family, it was just me, here in my home listening to the silence of the room. Here. Alone. By myself. I felt confused. What do I do with myself? Is this the norm? A friend, who I was with on the trip with, had just advised me about this, specifically warning me on being independent. This is exactly what she meant. This is it.
While many people use this day to gather with family and friends, I was able to reflect on the people who are unable to do that. May those people remain strong and look at life from a different perspective, and may those people find other ways and perks throughout their daily lives that highlight their blessings.
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Being a coach’s wife is difficult. It is hard. It comes with its highs and with its lows. Today I am stronger. I never knew how much being away from family and friends would affect me. After almost 3 years of marriage, I was finally coming to the realization of what all the other seasoned coaches’ wives were referring to. I am thankful for this new sense of knowledge and awareness.  Seizing every moment with loved ones now has a new meaning for me. I get it. I get it.  


Happy Thanksgiving and stay wonderfully blessed!