Dear I.M's. Not coping and in desperate need of advice/experience/words of wisdom - sorry for the long post.
After 15 years together I recently left my husband. He is a good man, and a great father to our three small children, yet I was unhappy for so long. For most of our marriage we lived the FIFO (fly in, fly out) life. His various jobs in the mining industry saw us move all over Australia, not settling for too long in one place. The kids and I would be based in the closest city/town to the mines, and he would fly out for up to two weeks at a time. At first I was a willing participant in the adventure, but eventually every move became harder than the last. It seemed that just as we finally felt settled in a new location and I started really connecting with people and making friends, we were off again. With him working away and no family support around us it also made it difficult for me to find even casual or part time work. Every time I did venture back into the workforce or to study and I needed him to help more with the kids when he was home, it was met with massive resistance and it all became too hard. He never really stepped up when he was home to give me a break (We had three under four). Two years ago my anxiety surfaced, and my husband was not very supportive with my struggle. I guess he just didn't understand it, and would use it as a reason to nullify any concerns I had about our life. Our last move was to a remote mining town in an attempt to have some sort of family life with him home every night, yet I have never felt more isolated. I spoke up and said I needed a break, and spent a couple of weeks away alone to recharge - my first trip ever away from my kids. Even then it took a tag team of grandparents to come across and help him out with them while I was gone. When I got back I felt like I was getting back into my cage, and I just couldn't do it anymore. So I left him. I know I broke his heart. We decided to move back to where we grew up to be closer to his family during this difficult time, and as such he had to leave his job. We are sharing custody of the kids and living off our savings as we haven't found work as yet. A few months have passed and I am nearly broke and wracked with guilt at the situation I have put my family in. I have taken my children from a comfortable, secure existence to one where I don't know what is going to happen tomorrow, let alone next week or next month. I miss my husband and still love him, and I know in spite of the pain I have caused him he feels the same, but he has said that he feels betrayed that I "abandoned" him and resents me. I'm worried that if I went back now it would be because I'm scared and floundering, and he feels that because I left, I'm the one that needs to do the work on our relationship to prove my commitment to him. I really don't know what to do. I don't have my family close by for support. I guess I'm just asking other I.M's for their advice and words of wisdom.
2 Replies
Book in with relationships australia. Best place to start is to start talking. Perhaps it's time to settle down somewhere moving around wouldnt be the best thing for the kids education and you were in a cage. It takes time to settle into a new area. But when you know you will be doing it again you dont get as involved because it will involve being uprooted again. It's time to put down roots settle in. Employment will happen. At least you are where you have support.
There is no reason you can't go back to him just make it very clear that you can't live like that anymore. And that is absolutely reasonable.
If he was FIFO before I can't understand why he can't do FIFO from where you are currently? Am I missing something?