FIFO Wife Life

Being Married to a Fifo (Fly in fly out) worker is not for everyone & a lot of people cringe & say they couldn't think of anything worse than being separated from there Partner for Periods of time .

Being Married to a Fifo Miner works for us!

Unlike most regular jobs working 5/ 6 days a week & just having a Day or two home on Weekends My Husband is fortunate in that he is on a lifestyle Roster & works week on week off!

Well i say this but i cant recall the last time he was actually home for his week off.
We usually loose most of his first & last day off in travel.

Still thats 5days home & helping than your average Sat/Sun in "a lot" of other jobs!
So im not complaining!

It means Hubby gets to attend some School & Kindy Events, Disco's ,Cross Country's, Interviews, Parent evenings. The Children's Sport commitments which take up 4 days a week & many more important things.

It means we cherish the time we have together & get the chance to miss each other , Which in my view its always nice to miss someone & make the heart grow fonder ..

How do the kids cope?
The Children on the most part cope fine .
Yes they do miss there Daddy but i remind them we get so much more quality time then if he was getting home at 6.30-7pm each night & was to work 6days a week to make ends meats!
They have a great relationship with there Dad & believe me when i say we are close Family :)

We have found some lovely resources along the way one being the my Dad is a Fifo Dad. By  Jo Emery, Ann-Marie Finn that we read again just last night!

And also the "Wish you were here  Dolls" that the Children take to bed each night!

We have tried all aspects of his Job at times living in small remote Mining Towns with no Traffic Lights, No Takeaway Shops or Retail Shops for that matter & well basically nothing for a long straight 8hours of highway .
It was an experience & had many High points which i am so glad we experienced together as a Team! Outback Australia is remarkable! The Nature & the Wildlife blew my mind & the Sky! The Sky lighting up when your in the middle of nowhere be it Sunrise or Sunset it is simply breath taking !
The best part was that  Crystal Clear Air its to hard to describe in words but the Air in the outback is so Clear theres no Haze & smoke of the City its just so fresh !

We have also tried the DIDO  (Drive in drive out) lifestyle being based in Airlie Beach thriving on living in the Tropics & exploring the Outer Islands.
Living beside the Ocean & bringing the kids up by the Beach for a couple of years was magic & mesmorising all in one!
It worked so well for us & was something we thought would suit us long term!
I thought living in Airlie Beach would be our forever home bad sadly Health won away and relocation it was :

Yes we have moments where it is blimen hard when the Children are sick & i really could do with another pair of hands on deck but in the grand scheme i am so blessed & grateful for this Lifestyle & get all this extra time together each year.

The hardest part in the last two years has purely been the Mining Down turn!
Its played havoc with our Family and was the reason we decided to relocate early and start Fifo!
I cannot count on two Hands how many times my Hubby has lost his job in the last 2years.
In fact it was my Husbands last block at his current position until today when he secured more work with another company! Go figure !

The added Pressure & stress that puts on us is hard especially because its nothing personal! Nor is it due to poor work ethic or anything you may have done in the work place its just totally out of your control.

We get there ! We always do !
Each time testing our strength & making us a stronger harder unit to break....

Theres also the mis conception its about "money" and Miners have a high life !!!
Well that very well might be the case for some but its certainly not the case for us !
My Hubby is a contractor he does not have a Trade & is just doing his bit to provide for his family.

Its a grubby filthy job that a lot of people seem to think is glamorous like staying at a Motel with Food available at your beckon call but i can confirm there is nothing glamorous  about sitting in a tiny Donga  away from your  Family .
Its working in small spaces Under the Ground in the Dark for hours on end & then when coming up to the surface having to adjust to the brightness again.
My Hubby quite often looses quite a lot of  'i call it life out of his skin from being under ground so much" . I love it when we get Family time away and he has been in the Sunlight for a few days.

He is fortunate in that he gets to use cool Machinery & Drive awesomeVehicles this being his latest (Don't ask me what its called as i have a memory like a sieve.)

And the main thing is he has job satisfaction & enjoys the Lifestyle its hard at times but rewarding at others ..

So last but not least how do i cope with my Husband working away 50% of the year?

Over all i manage fine it becomes second nature! 

You get so used to holding up the fort its hard to remember what its like to have a Husband come home each night & you get used to your own company.

And actually enjoy it !

Yes  sometimes i get lonely but not often, i have a lovely circle of Friends where we all look out for each other & offer support (i cannot tell you how grateful i am for this).

I am also so fortunate to have my Mother near by which in itself is such a blessing after living in Australia without any Family for 7 years prior (We are Kiwi's).

And the Children keep me more than a little busy. 

This is our Life & it works so well for us!!!!!

No, i did not chose lonely nights, nor did i chose the distance, but i did chose to love someone, who sacrificed his nights away from us and that someone is our Life!!!!!!!

To get yourself or a loved one a copy of the My Dad is a Fifo Dad Book head to there Website
http://www.mydadisafifodad.com & be sure to look them up on Facebook.

To check out the Wish you were here dolls head to there Website http://wishuwereheredolls.bigcartel.com/ & find them on Facebook.