Two Months On The Road: Here’s What I’ve Learned So Far. Part 1: Life During Home-Stands

How are we here already? ⅓ of the season is already done. I cannot believe this has been our life for the past two months. After three full seasons in AZ rookie ball, this is SO different. I mean baseball is baseball, but affiliate ball is so different to rookie ball. A change that we happily welcomed as we are both adventurers at heart, but it was a change that came with some learning curves. After two whole months I feel like I’ve finally figured out this life on the road, and I’m here to share what I have learned about this life so far. If this is your first time or millionth time on the road with your man, I hope you can relate and that you’ll share your takeaways from this life too.

The biggest thing I have learned is you live twoVERY different lives. One at home and another on the road. I think it’s only fair for me to talk about both of these lives because they are SO different from one another. I’ll tell you what I enjoy from both as well as what I really am not a fan of! Originally, this was all going to be one post but it got kind of lengthy so be on the lookout for part two tomorrow!

LIFE AT HOME

One of the things we were really intentional about before we moved to our affiliate town in Ohio, was that we wanted to be within ten driving minutes of the ballpark ( a non-negotiable being a one car family and not really an option if you’re a gf/wife of a player). We really lucked out and found a cute little two bedroom cottage that is walking distance to our church, the downtown, as well as great restaurants and coffee shops. This has given us a lot more flexibility with time at home, as well as given us the option to live a more suburban life during the homestands. 

The Con

Now, while this gives us the opportunity to maximize morning time together, there are a lot more demands during life at home. With the way the schedule works, you are home every other week. The week consists of an off-day on Monday then games Tuesday-Sunday. After the homestand series ends on Sunday, the off-day is spent preparing for the road trip ahead since the team travels on Tuesdays for a Tuesday night game. The week consists of 6 games that vary between 6:35-7:05 PM, except for Sunday with a 1:05 PM game. For the evening games at home, Jordan is at the facility between 10:30-11:00 AM. Games easily go to 9:30 or sometimes past 10PM and then you go home and by the time you wind down it’s midnight, and then he does reports in the morning before I take him in. This has been the hardest part for us at home, finding balance between sleeping in and resting, Jordan doing the work he needs to do, and us finding a way to exercise or go for walks and a coffee in the morning. To be very honest, I didn’t think this part would be a struggle at all, we usually have no issue getting up and going for walks or getting a quick workout in. But for some reason when we are home, it’s like we are more exhausted, easily sleeping in until 9:30 AM. Jordan does his reports until 10 ish, we make a coffee and then I’m driving him to the facility at 10:30 ish. If anyone has tips on how to live a more balanced life with your spouse at home, please let me know! 

The Pros

Anyways, this schedule leaves me with a whole day of doing things by myself so I can do my work calls and have a bit more structure with my day in a sense. A huge positive of being home is that it’s easier to have a planned out routine (after 10:30 AM), as well as a better nutritional plan as I get to cook my breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I can do laundry whenever I need to, and I know the area enough now to be able to choose where I want to shop or go to a movie. I have my favorite restaurants in case I want to eat out. I know these things sound silly, but after two back to back weeks on the road, these simple things were what I missed the most and it’s something I completely take advantage of now when we are back at home. 

Please share your biggest take aways from life during home-stands