Come November, Patrick and I will become one of the 3.6 million married couples in America who live together--apart. Commuter couples, as we are more popularly known, are husbands and wives who choose to live in different states or distant cities, often to further our careers. Patrick, for example, has taken a hefty promotion in another company who required him to relocate near Dallas, Texas temporarily. I chose to stay in Chicago. Lucky me, my company allowed me to work from home in Dallas one week a month, while Patrick's company agreed to fly him back and forth their headquarters in Chicago.
It is obviously not the ideal, or dare I say traditional scenario, for a married couple. But without sounding defensive, Patrick and I are quite comfortable and confident with our forthcoming situation. When he was making his decision on which career step to take next, we sat down face-to-face and weighed the pros and cons. Are we going to own or rent in another city? How often should we fly out to see each other and how much will that cost us? How long are we going to do this? We laid down our choices and we listed our priorities. We both looked at the big picture and I was thankful that we were on the same page.
I am very thrilled for my husband and I am immensely proud of his achievements. I am thankful that I married a gentleman and an achiever
I am also equally excited about the opportunities we both have on our plate. And most of all, I am beyond grateful that we took time to understand what our choices mean to each other and that we took time to look in the same direction.
