Being a Third Shift Wife

About a year ago Joel went from part-time second and third shift work to full time second shift. We were excited about it being full time, and adjusted our schedules a bit for his Sunday to Thursday, 3 pm to 11 pm schedule. I got permission to start a little later and stay a little later at work. Being a night owl, I had no problem waiting up nearly every night to see him after work, and he being a morning person, got up with me in the mornings.

It was sometimes difficult being a second shift wife. It meant there were a lot of evenings to myself and get-togethers with friends I went to solo. We tried to connect at least once during the day by phone, so it wasn't just a 'hi' in the morning and 'good night' in the evening until the weekend came. In the end, we made it work because we had to.

Joel was recently told he would need to move from second shift to third shift: instead of 3 pm to 11 pm, he would be working 9 pm to 5 am. Last night was his first official shift on third, so I'm not quite sure yet what it means to be a third shift wife.

On the plus side, we'll now get to see each other at dinnertime and there may be some social things that we can go to together before he has to work. And most importantly, he still has a job, and for that we are very grateful.

On the other hand, this change means Joel and I will have to do things that don't come naturally. He'll have to stay awake at night and sleep during the day. I'll be on my own in the morning, and even need to get up earlier to try and see him.

I expect this to be a difficult transition, but it is not the first challenge Joel and I have faced together. We made it work through long distance while we were dating and then engaged, a single income while we waiting for his visa, then his part-time work and finally working full time second shift. And now we'll figure something out for third shift.