Author Archives: Road Widows

Introducing …

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Our newest addition! No we haven’t had our babies, yet. We’re only 24 weeks – Geez! :) We are introducing our newest Road Widow blogger –”Nise”.

Nise is a fellow Road Widow, married for 3+ years. She met her husband at a show, and they became friends, started dating (well, actually long-distance dating), she eventually moved to Nashville and they married 3 months later. Her husband has played keyboards for five different artists since they met and he also drives tour buses (lots back then, but only occasionally now). Needless to say, Nise has seen it all!

What we like the most about Nise, though, is her positive attitude towards this lifestyle. She and her husband have been through tough times with his gigs and touring, but her optimism doesn’t seem to waiver. In her own words, she says they …

… love our life, and we wouldn’t change it for anything. Sure, we’d love more financial security, but we agree that we’d rather be poor and doing what we love than be rich and miserable.

She has a great outlook on life as a Road Widow with the perfect balance of realism. This life isn’t for everyone and it takes a certain kind of person, but when you choose this life together and commit to make it work, it’s possible.

its in those moments that I’m reminded that we may have to give it a little more effort than some marriages, but its worth it.

So, join us in welcoming Nise to our family and hope you look forward to yet another perspective on this crazy life we lead.

On the Road Again

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As we get back into tour season, we thought it may be helpful to offer a few thoughts from one Road Widow to another… Husband and I are now in our third year of doing the Road Life thing now. During this time, I’ve discovered a variety of things Husband likes to have on the road and thought this list may be helpful for newbie Road Widows. Our significant others are all different, so each thing won’t apply to each traveling spouse, but here are some thoughts from my experience.

  • I send Husband on the road with plenty of travel size toiletries. They shower in random places and usually not the same place twice. Husband would often leave his full bottle of shampoo or large bar of soap in the first stop of a long run, so we quickly learned that travel size is best! (Walmart and Target have the best selections and prices)
  • Make sure Husband has some snacks on board. Sometimes, Husband will avoid the load out food b/c he knows pizza at 1:00 AM before a 9-hour ride is not a good idea. But, he’s often hungry. I used to send home-made goodies for him to enjoy, but those days are over few and far between. Now granola bars, crackers, and snack foods are the choice!
  • Every now and then, do something special like leave a card in his suitcase or day bag. Husband likes to find a random note from me now or then to say “I love you.” I’m a gift person, so this is how I love, and Husband likes to be reminded of my love.
  • Get Husband plenty of over-the-counter medicines for any ailment that may occur out on the road. Sometimes they don’t always think of things like Tylenol, Immodium, Claritin, Pepto, etc., and there’s nothing worse then being stuck on a bus, not feeling well and not having any facilities to use unless you make the bus driver pull over.
  • They tend to have lots of random time to kill in between arriving, eating, setting up, sound checking, showtime, etc., so sometimes I like to give Husband a new book, magazine or anything else he’s interested in so he can fill up some time.

I am sure there are many other tips and recommendations, and we would love to hear from you all! What is something you have learned in your Road Widow experience that you can share with us?

‘Glass-is-half-full kind of girls’

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This past Thursday, our Road Widows blog had a very exciting day. The CMT blog posted a feature about Road Widows. The author, Alison Bonaguro, found us through one of our friends and wrote a very positive article about what we do and who we are.

“Sounds like these road widows are glass-is-half-full kind of girls, no matter what kind of gig they got when they married into the music business.”

It was so encouraging to read a post on this blog, generally about all the big and up and coming country artists, that was about the other side of things … the road widow life. And even more encouraging to hear that others see the positivity that we’re trying to inspire.

We have been so motivated by this feature, knowing that no matter how big or small our audience is, we are reaching other road widows out there. Thank you for continuing to follow us and we promise, there is more to come! :)

Thanksgiving

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Happy Thanksgiving, Road Widows! I think we can all agree that there are many moments in the year that we find it difficult to be thankful for our life as a road widow, so that just means it is even more important for us to reflect on the things we are thankful for today! Thanks to everyone who contributed to the list!

  • The great group of people my husband tours with – they’re like his family on the road, so I’m glad they all care for each other
  • The time I do get to spend with my husband – we always make it count!
  • Living this life. Even though at times I can’t stand it, if I step outside of myself for a minute, it’s a pretty amazing looking life!
  • iChat – I don’t know how I would make it if my boyfriend and I didn’t get to see each other over videochat… we’re not big phone-talkers, so it helps our relationship so much!
  • my family members – those God chose for me and those who I have chosen for myself
  • the chance to embrace this road widow adventure with open arms
  • a flexible job that I love (makes the adventure a lot easier)
  • sharing a magical love with my best friend who is there for me even when he is in a location’s name to which I have never heard of and often would like to never hear again
  • safe travel
  • community for him on the road
  • community for me off the road
  • a strong marriage
  • trust
  • communication (and technology)
  • road widow blog!
  • Successful year
  • Other women who “get” me
  • Husband gets to see a lot of cool places and meet a lot of awesome people
  • Getting to watch Husband live his dream!

So today tell the ones you love just how thankful you are for them!

What are YOU thankful for this year?

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With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it feels like an appropriate (and rather obvious) time to reflect on what we are thankful for this year. This may seem a little cheesy to some of you, but with our husbands gone much of the year, it’s easy for us Road Widows to get a little down and focus on the negative. But this year we are determined to use this holiday in a positive way to remind ourselves of the many blessings we enjoy in our relationships and even as Road Widows. Hopefully, this will help us refocus and stay positive going into next year AND the next tour season!

So … we would love to hear from our fellow Road Widows on what you’re thankful for AS a Road Widow. Post a comment or email us at roadwidows@me.com and we will compile a list to post on Thanksgiving Day. Send as many thanksgivings as you wish, and we will be sure to post them all.

We think this will be a fun way to celebrate our position as a Road Widow and an encouraging list to look back on when we’re all feeling a little discouraged.

So, what are YOU thankful for this year??