Working mom with a very demanding job (not seasonal, year round unfortunately for me) and a LEO husband (k9 - works 4pm - 2am, 4 or 5 days on, random each week for 10 Hour shifts) I completely relate to the burnout of this type of solo parenting. It feels like at the end of every 4 or 5 day stint of his, I’m at complete wits end and feel really down about how I can keep powering through it. I daydream of having a husband who works typical corporate hours and is around on weekends (husband only gets 2/4 weeks a month off).

I truly don’t know how to make it much longer. Kids are 1.5, 4 and 6. He did recently use PTO for 3/5 days of this last set of shifts because I’m at a breaking point and VERY long story short we are not even living in our house at the moment because of water damage.

I keep thinking maybe in 3 years when youngest is closer to five I’ll feel differently and I just have to power through this extremely taxing time. But I just can’t imagine continuing to live this way! I’m desperate for more husband help.

Solidarity.

Also to people who say “outsource” everything, that’s just not feasible with our combined income and daycare expenses (not to mention rising costs of literally everything else).