Make the Most of Your Time

 *Warning - this post contains no pictures and its long, but I hope you'll appreciate its meaning and purpose as much as I do.

I won't sugar coat it or lie about it - being a coach's wife is hard. There are long hours to deal with. Multiple games each week. Out of town tournaments. Two hour phone conversations with upset parents crying because their son didn't get to play the entire game. Uniforms that have to be washed. And at the end of the day he still has to come home and be a husband or a "family man." Yes, those are just some of the things that THE COACH has to deal with in addition to actually conducting practices and coaching games.

As for the coach's wife - well she has to deal with everything above, and then some. Most husbands change light bulbs, walk dogs, take out the trash, tighten the screws on the bar stools, un-clog the kitchen sink, etc. Most husbands work jobs with regular hours and are home at relatively the same time each day. Please note - I said MOST. I realize other husbands have crazy schedules too. Just speaking for majority on this one. My husband isn't home to do those things.  If he pulls into our drive way before 8pm on a practice night, it usually means something is wrong. On game nights, he might as well be non-existent (to me) because he is never home before 11:30pm and I'm never up that late. I pick up a lot of the slack around our house and I do a lot of the chores or tasks that husbands usually do. I don't resent him for it. I just do it, and move on.

 Its a small price to pay to have my love do something each and every day that makes his soul shine and his heart race. Baseball is in his blood and coaching gives him a connection with the game you can't get from any other position on the field. He loves what he does and you can see it in his eyes. I am forever jealous that he found his calling in life so early and that he gets to earn a living fulfilling his dreams. I love him and I support him - together, we make the best team there will ever be, in ANY game. I'm sure he'd agree to that too.

So, now with this blah, blah, blah out of the way I can get to my point;  The most important part of being The Coach's Wife. Its not the extra chores, late nights, weather conditions, etc. The most important thing, is time and using it wisely. Time is a precious thing, because you can never get it back and it passes so quickly. When your time is limited with the special people in your life, you learn quickly to make the most of the time you are allowed. For whatever reason we have all dealt with the issue of using our time wisely. The time Dave and I share is precious to the both of us for so many reasons. His coaching keeps him away from home more than he likes, so we soak up the minutes we get to spend together. My Father in law passed at a young age due to cancer and its always a reminder that we are not promised tomorrow no matter what our age or health status.

How we make the most of our time is different to each of us. It greatly depends on our loves in life, desires, past experiences, hobbies, etc. Here are some of the things the Coach and I like to do to make the most of the time we have together.

• We eat dinner TOGETHER, when possible. No matter how late it is we like to share our meal beside one another. Sometimes we have a conversation over dinner and sometimes we share the nice silence or play music.
• We take long walks - alone or with Bronx. Sometimes its down our street and sometimes we stop and walk down town after an errand trip or dinner. 
• We cook together, clean together, and play with Bronx together. If we are both home we try to both be included in the activity at hand. You'd be surprised at the laughs you'll have cleaning the bathroom together. 
• We go to bed together. I'll admit this is a new one, because usually we have different bed times. Lately, I've needed that extra cuddle time so Dave has been trying to hit the hay with me. 
• We plan things. Sometimes we plan together and sometimes we each plan a little something for the other one. Its as simple as a spur of the moment wine and cheese picnic in our back yard on Sunday evenings or as detailed as a Friday night dinner by the lake followed by a movie!
• We're spontaneous. We have responsibilities so we can't just up and fly the coop for a weekend getaway without a little planning. But, when the idea comes up for some last minute fishing at the pond with a full cooler and good friends - we jump at the chance! We go to the grocery store on Saturday nights at 11pm and we make trips to Wal-mart for ice cream at 2am when we wake up on the couch after falling asleep to some rented movie. 
• We get in lots of cuddles, hugs and kisses when we're together - so I'll have extra stored up when he's gone! :) I'm not a big fan of PDA - so don't worry, these are at home cuddles, hugs and kisses! 

You have to be open to try new things and spend undivided attention on each other. Make the most of those moments you have together by doing your favorite activities together or sharing an activity together that the other usually does not participate in. You've got to go for it. No one else is going to stop time and tell you what to do and how to use your time together wisely, you've got to figure it out. I made my mind up a long time ago I was not going to let something so petty as time stand in my way of making lasting memories with my husband, and having a hell of a time doing it! I hope you feel the same!