Can you believe it’s been almost seven months since I wrote this post.
I can’t.
It’s like I blinked and Eric is back living with me. It’s like he never left at all.
Except for when I walk into the bedroom and see dirty socks lying on the floor, two feet from the hamper or when the toilet seat is left up in the bathroom or the pillows messed up on the couch, I could go on…
All jokes aside, with only a few minor glitches we have managed to mold ourselves back into living together pretty well. One thing that is both a blessing and a hindrance is that our schedules are completely opposite. During the week I’m at school/work/gym from about 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Give or take a few hours depending on the day and my class schedule. Whereas Eric’s school goes from 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Hmmm. If you think that means we never see each other, you’d be right.
In the last week I’ve morphed from being a morning person to an evening person and I’ve switched the early morning workouts that I’d come to love for evening ones so that I can spend an extra couple minutes cuddled up with Eric in bed in the morning or eating breakfast together before I leave for work. This hasn’t been a super easy adjustment, my body is used to the early morning workouts so by mid-afternoon I hit a slump and I feel exhausted. It takes every ounce of willpower I have to then drag my butt to the gym a 5 or 6.
But I’ve been doing it.
And, you know, I think my legs like those afternoon runs. I sure am a lot speedier in the afternoons. On Tuesday I set out on my first run in four days and still managed to average a 9:00/mile and that’s with walking breaks. Also, my gym offers way better classes with way better instructors in the afternoons then they do in the mornings. Except that also means they fill up way faster, last night I showed up at the gym at 5:30 for a 6:10 spin class!
So, we’re juggling our schedules around and we’re making it work. It sucks that we can never eat dinner together but on the other hand the fact that our schedules are opposite allows us to see just enough of each other that we’re still wildly smitten and don’t reach the point of wanting to bite each others heads off, which would happen quickly with us, trust me.
If you have a SO, how do your schedules balance with each other? And if your schedules are opposite, how do you make that work? If you’re single, how did you balance your schedule with your last SO? Or, ya know, lucky you 
Also, morning or evening worker-outer?
PS: I was interviewed by the Globe & Mail after the reporter stumbled upon this blog post. Check out the article here.
PPS: Exactly one month from today we jet off to Europe!!!!!!!
{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, one month? Yipee.
Eric and I have pretty similar schedules since we have the same job. In the afternoons our schedules are a bit different with meetings and tutoring, but generally they are similar. The schedule of ours that is different is our sleep schedule. On weekends Eric goes to bed late and wakes up late and I’m the opposite. I think 90% of the time, this is a good thing because it’s when we get our time alone, and I’m usually really productive on my mornings alone. I have considered the fact that when we have kids I will be with the kids in the morning while he will still have nights alone so I don’t know if I’m going to let that fly haha.
As for morning work outs- ideally I would be a morning workout person- I definitely am on the weekend. The problem is when I work out in the morning before work I never can get in quite as good of a work out because of time restraints. And I find it harder to stretch and ice my knee after as well because I have to get to work. Then again, I also like to have my nights more free- so I basically switch between the two. If I worked just a bit later I’d probably always work out in the morning, but waking up any earlier than 5:30 would just make me crazy.
i was just thinking - amber must be going to europe pretty soon! and lo and behold you just mentioned it!
i’m a morning work out person. i actually find i work out better in the mornings because my stomach is pretty much empty and i don’t feel blech when I run.
plus i like having the evening times free to do whatever - make dinner, unwind, watch tv =)
I’m def going to have to check back and read responses. I’m very interested to hear what everyone has to say. Obviously my LDR won’t be LDR forever and we are already making plans which means soon it will go from LDR to moving in together! It will be both of our first times, officially anyway, living with someone and I am nervous about how we’ll make things work once the “newly wed” feel wears off and we settle into a routine.
As for workouts, I’m a morning girl all the way. I like to get it out of the way before I even begin my day so there’s no excuses not to.
I’m lucky! Haha. I am not a morning person. I can’t even make myself be a morning person. So I generally walk/shred right after getting home from work. Yay for Europe being so close!
Congratulations on the interview!! Ah! =D
I used to be a night person, but after many years of living together Mister converted me to an morning person. Sometimes our schedules work perfectly and other times they’re a ridiculous mess, but what I’ve always found is that trying new things all the time and talking about what works and what doesn’t is the biggest helper in keeping things moving forward in a positive way.
I’m more of a late morning workout kind of gal… that’s why workouts over the weekend when I can go whenever I want are my favorite!
I’m definitely a morning work outer so I definitely know what you mean about being tired mid-afternoon when you don’t work out. I just feel like I can never wake up! ..That being said I HAVE noticed that when I finally do kick my butt to the gym in the afternoon, I’m a little looser/faster, overall perform better .. interesting. Makes sense I guess. Still not enough of a difference to switch my whole routine though.
One month till Europe already! It’s coming so fast! Ps. Super cool about the interview!!
Evening worker-outer! (well, I’d prefer around 4pm in all honesty but that doesn’t always work out)
Night person. NOT evening person, though I have dated guys who were even more of a night person than me! It was kind of… crazy! I’d push myself to stay awake only to sleep in a bit later than I should have the next morning.
one month til Europe!? You must be beside yourself with joy.
I like morning work out because it wakes me up for the day, i feel like i have more energy and it gets it out of the way and i don’t have to worry about it when i get home. Steve likes evening work outs because he’s not a morning person, he would still get up with me and work out though, we’d trade off here and there for morning an evening workouts. I do like walking after work though to a neighbourhood outside of downtwon after work, its relaxing.
YAY for your interview!!! I’m blind and can’t seem to find it *_*
Hi Amber,
First things first, THANK YOU for posting your new blogs on FB! I look at FB Every day and there it is!! Thank you!!
We have a crazy schedule, Kris is away 85% of the time either in the oil patch or farming. I work a full time day job and I am building my business in the nooks and crannies of my life. We work well together with this schedule because we have very similar goals for our future, we continue to stay on the same page. And some times one of us falls off the ‘yellow brick road’ but the other is there to remind them, why we do what we do and the beautiful results we are going to have for it. Our moto is short term sacrifice for long term gain.
When Kris comes home my schedule does not stop. I actually book a day or two off a week to spend with him. He is okay with this because once again, we talked about it and are okay to build our relationship this way.
Work outs - If I can get my butt outta bed early, I prefer early workouts, but lately its been evening ones. Went for my first run OUTSIDE last night!! phew, I need to be doing that more then once a month! Today I feel great though.
WHOO HOO!!! ONE month!!! Have you started packing??
Have a wonderful day Amber!
I am an evening work out person. That could change depending on what time I need to be up for work, though. I have been gettign up at 5:15 for work for the last 5 months, so it obviously wasn’t realistic to get a workout in before work! But if I started work a little later, I would try to run in the mroning a couple of days a week. But in general, I like to end my day with a run.
I have never really had to change my schedule for another person… kind of wonder how that will work when I do meet my Mr. Right…
Nathan and I have similar work schedules … Before I was pregnant, we didn’t see each other a whole lot in the evenings since he had church things at least 4 nights a week and I would be at the barn but now he does his church things and I stay home (or go with him, if I have the energy!) and we go to the barn together the other nights. We’re pretty good about not biting each others’ heads off even though we’re together so much!
The whole first year of David and I’s relationship, our schedules were opposite. Well not opposite exactly, we started at the same time (but didn’t live together) but he worked 14 hour days so he wouldn’t be done until 9 or 10 PM, at which point he’d pop by maybe two nights out of the week, cuddle for an hour and just lay under twinkly lights talking and holding each other. We did that for a year and I treasured every second. Now things are way more balanced - and even if he has to go away for work for a few days, or stay a few hours late, now we’ve been through that ANYTHING easy
My body definitely operates in the exercise realm muuuuch better in the afternoon/evening. Some mornings due to late meetings or other plans, I’ll force myself to do a run or go to the gym, but those workouts are never as good as the post work ones. Manfriend and I have similar schedules although I usually am home later than he is bc I do runs/workouts every night where as he only does a few rides after work during the week. He just waits for me basically and then we have din din.
Actually I’m an afternoon worker-outer! That’s why I love lunch break runs. However that’s not always possible so I tend to work out in the evenings after work. I’m usually at work by 7:30-7:45 so I have a hard time fitting in a decent workout before then. I did do the Shred before work in the winter and it did feel really good to get it done early. I just ended up crashing before 9pm.
My last ex was an Army Recruiter and worked from maybe 9am until very late at night. He also worked weekends. I worked from 6:30am to 3:00pm at the time (which was an awesome schedule for afternoon workouts!) so by the time he got home I was asleep on the couch. I slept there just so I could wake up when he came in the door and see him SOME during the day. Of course he REALLY wasn’t at work as much as he claimed, but that’s another story…. *rolls eyes*
I love that the reporter wrote “Ms. Harding.” I love being called by Kyle’s last name, even it it just reminds me of his mom.
Luckily, for Kyle and I, we work similar schedules. He leaves for work at 7:00 a.m. and that’s when I get up to get ready for work. Then I get home around 4:15 p.m. and he’s usually home 10 minutes after me. Even if I go to the gym after work, I’m usually only an hour or so in the door behind him.
I just can’t get myself up early enough to work out in the morning. I don’t have the time to go back home and shower (’cause there’s no way I’m doing that at the gym!) and since it’s only a couple blocks away from my office, I just zip over after work. The only class I like is right after work, so it works out better anyway.
My hubby and I have the same schedules, so that is nice! I like to work out in the evening … that is when I have the most energy.
Our morning schedule is PERFECT. BF is gone to work when I get up - I have the house to myself while I drink coffee and get dressed and be my cranky morning self. I love it. Evenings are pretty good too! BF works longer hours than me, so I usually get home about an hour before him. This gives me time to decompress alone (can you tell I like my ‘me time’ ha.) and clean up the house before he gets in.
Ideally - I would be a mid-morning workouter. I love the 10:00 am workout. Sadly, I have a day job. I really like working out in the early morning - but I also like having a slow paced morning at home, and that usually wins out. So, despite my natural tendencies, I am usually an after work workouter.
that’s so hard!! I don’t blame ya for switching to evening workouts, when you have time on your own to do it anyway
Me and the Bf have pretty similar schedules - I just leave a little earlier and get home earlier, whcih gives me time to do an early evening run or workout
I would definitely Prefer a morning workout, but I would have to get up WAY too early for that!
I’m glad you guys are happy & back where you belong
My other half and I have about the same schedules so it works out. But in the summer he worked all morning and I worked all afternoon. So sometimes he’d come and visit me even though we lived 40 miles apart!
Yay for you and Eric making the long distance thing work … and being able to move back in with each other. That’s an amazing journey that so many couples never get the chance to make!
I have been on an early work schedule (leaving the house at 6AM) for almost a decade. It was a problem with a few guys I dated, because they were night owls and it began to affect my sleep! Sweets couldn’t be more perfect for me. He works in a hospital where his shifts have always started at 7AM. That means, we’re both out the door at 6AM. And we’re also both home on the early side. So, we hit the gym after work and are still home by 6:00 or so. It’s great to be in sync with one another!
I just love being home!!
Balancing me and the BFs time is tough. The only time we really get to see each other is on weekends and that makes it mighty hard for me to pry myself out of bed to go for a long run because that could be time I spend with him. It’s really tough doing the balancing act, sometimes I wish we’d live at the same place so that way at least we’d see each other at night, but right now with work situations it’s just not an option.
It definitely is tough. We have opposite days off, but try to make the most of our short weekend mornings and our weekday evenings.
He may soon be working an evening shift, which means we literally will spend NO waking hours together!
My SO and I are mostly on the same schedule now, which is nice. But hasn’t always been the case. We spent last year living in different provinces
Our schedules are pretty similar to yours. I leave before he does in the morning and get around 6. Most days he gets home around 9:30. The there’s the fact that I have the weekends off, whereas he’s working both Saturdays & Sundays. So we don’t get to spent a lot of time together, but we still have a few hours at night together.
I wish I could be a morning worker-outer! I have to be at work at 6:30 so there’s no possible way for me to get in a good workout (at what? 4:00am? No, thanks!). So I usually work out in the afternoons/evenings. I have to say, I really enjoy evening runs. I feel like I can run better around 6:00pm than 6:00am, probably because I’m more alert and have some fuel in my body.
I’m so not a morning person but I’m slowly becoming one due to my work/school schedule. But I crave those days where I can lay in bed all day and sleep in!
You’re TOTALLY preaching to the choir on the whole diverging schedule thing! When we first moved here I found it sooooo hard . . .
You see my Fiance works shifts - 4 on and 4 off. 12 hour shifts that end up being something like 15 hours with driving. And I work your normal Mon-Fri schedule with some traveling thrown in. Add to that the fact that we didn’t like this place (at all) when we got here and you had the recipe for some misery.
But we’ve learned to deal with it! When the Fiance is home during the week we’ll go out for lunch together. I’ll shift my schedule around to spend time with him when he’s available. And if I am going to travel he comes with me whenever he cans. Plus we take impromptu road trips whenever possible.
I swear it gets better! But as someone who had to do the LD thing for about seven months before being together . . . well this is way better!
My SO lives three and a half hours away, thus, our contact is primarily through the phone. We’ll usually text off and on during the day then call or text from a bit after 10pm to 11pm or so when he gets off work. I’m looking for a job so right now I’m pretty much free to chat whenever.
I think if we lived together it would be an adjustment as he’s a night owl and me…not so much anymore.
YAY I’m so glad Eric is back!!!!
I think you’re doing the right thing moving your workouts around. You do want to see Eric for at least a few waking hours
And you’re so right about later classes and better instructors! It’s not fair for us students who go earlier on in the day 
I mean it’s not ALWAYS the case but we’re still a little restricted when it comes to morning classes.
Ahhh the joys of living with a boy. First of all, glad your boy Eric is back. Second of all, you really need to break him of the leaving-the-toilet-seat-up habit. Seriously. The socks on the floor, fine…passable…it happens. But you do NOT need to be falling into the toilet. Also, why should you have to touch the toilet seat??? That’s a boy habit. TRUST ME, break him of that, hee hee!!
I’m an evening runner, but I go into work early and get out earlier than normal and get my workouts in and am home in time for dinner. I am a big believer in having a schedule where everything gets done and no one gets neglected, your needs included. That may mean switching evenings for mornings or vice-versa. Just find a happy compromise.
Yay! Eric’s back - no more missing him.
I’m convinced I’m a better worker-outer (it’s late, I’m catching up on my reader, my language skills have flown out the window, so I’m making up words. It’s all good.) in the afternoon. When I was working as an aerobic instructor I used to do 3 classes back to back from starting at 1pm and finishing at 6pm. I loved it. I have my dinner in the middle of the day, so I always find that working out afterwords works well for me. Evenings /nights are just too late - I get this weird energy burst after working out so I can’t go to sleep for a few hours afterwards, so that DEFINITELY doesn’t work. And I don’t like mornings. I’m not a morning person, so I’m not really awake enough to actually enjoy my workout in the morning, which means that I lose interest and enthusiasm.
BUT: I don’t work out in the afternoon much anymore - I put it off. So I find that I have to work out in the morning if I’m going to do it at all. First thing. I figure that doing it is more important than when I do it.
I’m very far behind in my blog reading, but wanted to add my 2 cents. My story: Was in a LDR for 8ish months. (3 hours away–not terribly long). Then he moved back here for 3 months in the summer. Then he moved back there for another 6 months. Then he came back to–officially– live with me around Christmas time. Now he has a job where he’s gone M-F. We don’t get to have dinner together… or wake up together most mornings. But at least I get to see him on the weekends. It’s hard, but I’m adjusting. The newness of being single-ish again is wearing off, though. I kinda want him around full time…
Oh, and I strongly prefer the morning workouts, but can’t always force myself out of bed. Now that the bf is gone I find myself doing afternoon/evening workouts more often… just so I’ll have something to do!