Three years into our marriage, my husband travelled to Canada in search of greener pastures. It was a happy day for our family. Our children were very young then but I was thankful to God for paving a way for the head of our family.
I believed it was the kind of breakthrough we needed to turn our lives around. We knew that it was not going to be easy to have him live miles across the ocean but we were determined to make the marriage work. We promised each other that the distance would not kill our love or tear our family apart. When he got there we talked every day. We made video calls on WhatsApp and also FaceTimed each other. The kids also got to speak to him all the time. This made it possible for us to be a part of each other’s lives.
We tried our best but the first two years of his absence were very difficult for me. It was just me and the kids, and they were constantly asking me, “Mummy, can we go visit daddy?” “Mummy, when is daddy coming back?” I understood that they asked these questions because they missed their father. I also missed him. I had to navigate the emotional void his absence left in the lives of the kids, and deal with my own emotional needs too. It was a lot of work but I managed to prevail, and now we have grown accustomed to his absence.
It’s been four years now since he’s been gone. In that four years I realized that it got to a point, he stopped calling us from home. He only called us when he was at work. When I called him at times I knew he would be at home, my husband wouldn’t pick up my calls.
He would wait to get to work before he returns my call. It didn’t make sense to me so I asked him one day, “Why do you only call us when you are at work? The kids and I want to talk to you when you are home and relaxed.” He apologized, “I’m sorry about that but I can’t help it. The time zone makes it difficult for me to call you when I’m not at work. You know, by the time I get home I am too tired that all I can do is sleep.” I didn’t buy his explanation but I pretended to…CONTINUE.READING.THE.FULL.STORY.HERE…>>>>>>
