Long Distance Parenting by Joanna Friera-Gonzales
My husband and I were in a long distance relationship for a year before we got married. It was dreadful and difficult, of course. Our days are measured by Skype calls and international text messages. I'll admit, it almost broke us up. It was exhausting to have to keep up with the time differences; exhausting to always wanting someone next to you only to fall asleep with your phone in your hand. Don't even get me started on overanalyzing things. However, we made it through stronger and better.
Fast forward to the present, we're married and are blessed to have a beautiful son who turned three this year and is getting more and more active and creative as time goes by. We're still living in two different time zones. After our son was born, it took us about a month to get everything arranged before we flew out. It was heartbreaking. As first-time parents, you'd probably want to be together while you take care of your child; to bond as a family. Waking up in the early mornings to feed the baby; teaching him how to crawl then walk then run. We didn't have that luxury. He stayed behind so he can better provide for our family. I am now doing my best to care for our son.
And it's not easy. The first few weeks almost drained me entirely. Taking care of the baby, feeding the baby, Skype calls with Dad, rocking the baby to sleep, and so on. Not to mention I still had to take care of myself too and the sudden waves of baby blues. It was difficult, I had moments of pure doubts then moments of optimism, it was a different kind of roller coaster. Yet, through all of that, it managed to get better little by little. I was starting to get the hang of my new role as a Mom.
Right now, my husband and I are doing the best we can to provide for our son even if we live in different timezones. It's still difficult to squeeze everything in but we're making it work. He would sometimes feel a tang of guilt that he wasn't personally here with us but, we both know that this is how we'll be able to take care of our family. At least for now. We pray for the time when we can all be together again and life would just be as perfect as it can be, with all its little surprises.
Distance makes every moment all the more precious and we are grateful to have this life. It’s a long and difficult road for us yet, it helped shape us to what we are now. We thank God and our lucky stars everyday that no matter how far apart we are, we still choose to move forward with the hope that someday, we’ll be together. So for all those who're in the same position as we are, yes, it is difficult and will be difficult but, I promise you, it will be the most rewarding thing you will ever be blessed with.
Follow Joanna @carameluuh