to be quite excited DH is going away for a week?

[LeggyBlondeNE]

Because I am. He's just given me his full travel itinerary and I'm actually both giddy with excitement and kinda disappointed I'm not going to get a full weekend to 'myself' as part of it.

Don't get me wrong, I quite like him most of the time. But I love these weeks where it's just me and the kids - I can cook couscous and veg for tea and no one complains they're being starved; I can sit and write of an evening and no one complains they're being ignored; I can spend Saturday going to the supermarket and doing jobs round the house while the kids play with no one complaining that it's boring; I can have a friend over for coffee (while the kids still play) and no one complains that it's intruding on family time.

The short version is that although DH and I make for excellent dinner partners and have an awesome time when we're off on our own together, our expectations of family domesticity are wildly different (none of which was remotely obvious before we had kids).

And so I'm super excited and I can't tell anyone because he'd only get upset.

But only three sleeps!

Oh me and Dd2 watched dream girls then chicago with no tutting

If DH is away overnight - I change the sheets so I get to enjoy them all by myself.

Yes to trash TV and if dcs aren't enthused about dinner...I don't cook and we forage (they are 14 and 16 so quite capable).

When I'm away they order in huge pizzas and watch action movies

I mean forage in the fridge/freezer...Not in the heaths and hedgerows

Mine has had a week away skiing every year since we got together. When the kids were very small it was a bit of a nightmare, but this time was the first one where I didn't actually miss him until the day before he came home because I was so busy pottering (and redecorating large areas of the house in a style slightly more slapdash than he approves of). Not a proper meal all week...

Kids are 3 and 5 so was still expecting it to be a bit of a slog!

I know it isn't the same, but I love it when my DP works till late. Once the kids are in bed I can have some time to myself until he comes home.

YANBU! DP rang me earlier to ask if I minded if he worked overtime this weekend. I plan on watching a lot of Netflix and eating large numbers of chocolate eclairs!

I love it when my OH goes away - he is off for some management training in 3 weeks for a whole week. I will be getting the cheese toastie machine out and giving it a buff in a fortnight in preparation. Plus ice cream. Fecking brilliant.

I love it when mine goes away. I have complete control of remote.

We also get to eat things that DH won't

I love my DP with all my heart, but 3/4 times a year he is away with work Mon-Fri and it's bliss! There is a little happy dance 'duh duh dudduh Squeaky time' (think MC hammer dance as well!) oddly never sleep the first night he is away though.

House stays tidy, late night shopping, crap telly whilst whats app/texting, whatever I fancy for tea, clean sheets and then starfish.

This is depressing reading!

Why stay in relationships that sound so unhappy with partners you are so incompatible with?

Can't you be yourself around your partners?

Love it when DH is away for bit. I really love him but there's something so wonderful about being able to be selfish for a bit and do exactly as you please.

Currently encouraging DH he really wants to stay in London Friday night after dinner and drinks.

Dh has recently spent 2 nights on the sofa cos he's ill and didn't want to keep disturbing me in the night.

It has been BLISS

Currently separated, so I can do all the things I want to all the time now.... but that wasn't what I was going to add to the thread..

I signed for a parcel for my neighbour, so had a quick chit chat in the street. She said, "oh its so nice because dh is away for two weeks, so the pressure is off now for a bit". So I asked her what she meant, I thought something along the lines of she doesn't have to sit and watch sport or something like that. So she replied "oh you know, so I can just do what I want in the evenings and I don't have to entertain him" ..... I was ..wtf! I still don't even know what that means....................

YANBU. I love it when DH is away for a few nights.

light - I can be myself, but I can't be alone. I'm an introvert. Another human being in the house, no matter how much I love him, is still there. It is just such a relief to relax on my own. For introverts, being around people is tiring and they need alone-time to recharge. So far, strangely, DD doesn't seem to 'sap' my energy like any other human does, but I imagine as she gets older that will change. But for the moment, I just relish the chance to be on my own with DD, which is something I never get to do otherwise.

I certainly don't want him to go away forever! If he's away for weeks, I do miss him. But it's not sad to like a little time with oneself.

My OH is away for 2 days and 1 night every week and I love it! Bed to myself, eat crap, read in the bath for hours and just be. No questions as to what am I doing if I'm laying on the settee doing nothing, no asking did I want to watch something on tv. Nothing.

Hmm. My XH used to work late shifts pretty much 100% of the time and i was alone for all afternoons and evenings. It started when we had 3 under 5 DCs and it went on till i left for 10 years.

I got so used to doing homework, feeding, bathing and bedtime for the kids alone and then doing/watching/eating what i liked in the evening that i hated it when he was home.

With 2nd DH i hate it when he's away! I feel like a spare part and i count the hours till he's home. Weird.

I'm an introvert too murmur so I get that, but all the stuff people re saying about eating what they want and watching what they want and going to bed when they want - I do all that when my DP is here and so does he!

Can't you be yourself around your partners?

Well, yes, of course. But we live in a small flat and there is no space to be on your own unless you go out. Yes, I can sit and read when DP is at home, but I can't escape the noise from the TV unless he turns it down so quietly he can't hear anything!

It's not about not loving your partner, it's about wanting your own space and some time to do what you want, without having to worry about anyone else.

If I want a cheese Toastie for dinner I have it and he has what he wants. And sometimes we both want the same thing which is fine too.

YANBU. I have never felt closer to murder than when my DH worked from home and was here all the frigging time

I love having some time to myself in the house - I lived on my own pretty much till got married at the age of 40, and I absolutely love it when DH goes away. Do what I want, when I want.

Great lifting of the spirits when I have the house to myself. I think I'd start to miss him properly after about 3 weeks...or get completely used to it and change the locks. I spend a probably quite unhealthy amount of time wondering if we could afford to buy the house next door so we could have one of those marriages where you don't live in the same house....

We live in flats next door to each other (after living together and feeling stifled). It's blissful. And we do have a toddler son, and he's happy too.

sunbeam that would be perfect. I'm a complete introvert and would love that so much.

DH wouldn't survive though, he needs someone around and gets quite desperate when he hasn't got people. Like bright dogs that are left on their own for too long.

I'm away on holiday with friends for 2 weeks soon and I know I'll come back to all sorts of bad stuff. He re-arranged my wardrobe once when I was away. Took all the clothes out and sorted them.