My husband works a two on two off hitch, so in theory he spends just as much time in his trailer at work as he does at our own home. My oilfield man (OFM) cooks, sleeps, works on his computer, and sometimes on occasion even catches a football game all from a lovely little tin pusher trailer on location. Have I mentioned how much I absolutely admire what he does and I respect him so much for it! Anyway, as silly as it sounds it really is a priority of mine to try and make his time away from home as comfortable as possible, especially since I cannot physically be there to cook for him, or keep his place cleaned up, even make sure he has clean clothes. Over the years I have found other ways to help make his time away from home, and his home away from home feel a little bit more like our home sweet home!
1. YARD SALES! For real who does not love a good deal and it seems like you are always scoring great deals at yard sales. I am always keeping my eyes peeled at yard sales for cooking utensils, dishes, croc-pots, and other appliances that he can have on the rig to help make his life a little easier and tummy a little more full. My OFM seems to be notoriously moved to crappy rigs that need to be whipped into shape, and he has come into pusher houses before that no joke had a couple plastic cups, some paper plates, and one or two spoons. I usually opt for yard sales for the kitchen and cooking materials because the reality is they do not last long, and we usually leave them with the rig if he gets transferred. Another reason why the kitchen area is important to have stocked for him is he loves to cook at home and at the rig. I think I have shared before but he is always whipping up some kind of feast for his crews and I first hand know the man can not grill ribs without allowing them to marinate in a crock pot first!
2. HAND ME DOWNS! It doesn’t seem like my OFM hardly ever gets sleep while he is at the rig, and it seems like when he does it is in his office chair. For those one or two times a month though when he does actually get to sleep in a bed and for more than 2 hours I want to make sure he gets great rest! I swap out my OFM’s “rig” bedding at least a few times a year. I take our bedding from our home and it becomes his rig bedding. Not only is he getting some quality stuff that is clean and fresh, but I also get to buy new stuff for us at home. Not only do I do the sheets and blankets but I send him new pillows too! The dirt and grease can make things icky fast, so constant rotation is a must, plus my guy always says how nice it is just to be able to smell me and smell home even if he lays down for a minute.
3. FURNISHINGS! Besides bedding we have sent a lot of household furnishings to my OFM’s rig too. Hubby has taken area rugs, TV’s, even our old Keurig to work when they were no longer needed at home or we upgraded at home. There are a number of items that we have went and bought for his rig though such as an iHome so he can listen to music while doing paperwork, or a DVD since not all rigs get Satellite, even stuff like a caddy to hang in the shower. In my opinion the oil/gas companies have come a ways in providing the guys with stuff who literally live on location for their two weeks rather than in an offsite man camp or hotel, and to be honest the last few rigs my OFM has been on have bought new furniture even which I think is great!
4. PERSONAL TOUCHES! At the end of the day personal touches are they way to help give a little piece of home to the rig. I am constantly updating photo frames for hubby to have on his desk or in his room. I send Ziploc bags of current preschool artwork or completed projects. I am notorious for gluing just about anything to a magnet so that it can be placed inside a locker, on a file cabinet, or in the truck. I always buy my OFM candles and Scentsy bricks to burn in his house to make it smell like home. (I bought him a Scentsy warmer last Christmas with his fav College team and it was a hit!) We make coffee mugs, beaded key chains, and noodle bracelets and stick them in his work truck. I even continue to sneak a shirt with my perfume and a sappy Hallmark card in ever bag full of clean FR’s that leave my house.
One of the things I have learned about being an oilfield wife (OFW) is that home is NOT where you are surrounded by the ones you love but a home is created by the love you share. My OFM, my love, is not always home, in fact he is gone half the time, but one thing I quickly learned is that we do not have to physically be together all month every month to feel the love of one another and be reminded what an amazing gift our family is. I think it is absolutely necessary to go the extra mile and make sure he feels the love of his home, the love of his family even when he is working 24 hour days and running on caffeine and nicotine. The OFM needs to be surrounded by the comforts of home and reminded of why he needs to be safe, Sometimes in life its the little things that go the extra mile, or for us get us through an extra week of days on.
Im always looking for new ideas for our home and my OFM’s rig home!
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